4020 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2001 / Notices

I. International Tolerances

A Codex Alimentarium Commission

Maximum Residue Level (MRL) is not

required for Alternaria destruens.

[FR Doc. 01–1353 Filed 1–16–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPP–50873; FRL–6740–2]

Issuance of Experimental Use Permits

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: EPA has granted experimental

use permits (EUPs) to the following

pesticide applicants and amended

certain previously granted EUPs. An

EUP permits use of a pesticide for

experimental or research purposes only

in accordance with the limitations in

the permit.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By

mail: Biopesticides and Pollution

Prevention Division (7511C), Office of

Pesticide Programs, Environmental

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.

In person or by telephone: Contact the

designated person at the following

address at the office location, telephone

number, or e-mail address cited in each

EUP: 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy.,

Arlington, VA.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

This action is directed to the public

in general. Although this action may be

of particular interest to those persons

who conduct or sponsor research on

pesticides, the Agency has not

attempted to describe all the specific

entities that may be affected by this

action. If you have any questions

regarding the information in this action,

consult the designated contact person

listed for the individual EUP.

B. How Can I Get Additional

Information, Including Copies of this

Document and Other Related

Documents?

You may obtain electronic copies of

this document from the EPA Internet

Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/. On

the Home Page select ‘‘Laws and

Regulations,’’ ‘‘Regulations and

Proposed Rules,’’ and then look up the

entry for this document under the

‘‘Federal Register—Environmental

Documents.’’ You can also go directly to

the Federal Register listings at http://

www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.

II. EUPs

EPA has issued the following EUPs:

524–EUP–90, 524–EUP–92, and 524–

EUP–93. Issuance. Monsanto Company,

700 Chesterfield Parkway North, St.

Louis, MO 63198. The issuance of these

EUPs allows the use of the plantpesticides Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Bb

protein and the genetic material

necessary for its production (vector

ZMIR14L) in corn, Bacillus

thuringiensis Cry3Bb protein and the

genetic material necessary for its

production (vector ZMIR12L) in corn,

and Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Bb

protein and the genetic material

necessary for its production (vector

ZMIR13L) in corn, respectively . A

notice of receipt for these EUPs was

published in the Federal Register on

December 8, 1999 (64 FR 68681) (FRL–

6398–3). The EUPs were granted on

April 6, 2000 and amended on May 15,

2000. 524–EUP–90 allows the planting

of 1,343 acres of corn to test and

evaluate genetically modified corn that

has been developed to provide control

of corn rootworm (Diabrotica spp.). The

program is authorized only in the States

of California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii,

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana,

Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,

North Carolina, Nebraska, New York,

North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,

Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South

Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and

Wisconsin. 524–EUP–92 allows the

planting of 416 acres of corn to test and

evaluate genetically modified corn that

has been developed to provide control

of corn rootworm (Diabrotica spp.). The

program is authorized only in the States

of California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois,

Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Kansas,

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North

Carolina, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Puerto

Rico, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,

Virginia, and Wisconsin. 524–EUP–93

allows the planting of 1,092 acres of

corn to test and evaluate genetically

modified corn that has been developed

to provide control of corn rootworm

(Diabrotica spp.). The program is

authorized only in the States of

California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii,

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana,

Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,

North Carolina, Nebraska, New York,

North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,

Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South

Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and

Wisconsin. These EUPs are effective

from April 6, 2000 to April 31, 2001.

These permits are issued with the

limitation that all treated crops will be

genetically contained and destroyed or

used for research purposes only. Nine

comments were received in reply to the

Federal Register notice announcing

receipt of these applications. Non-target

insect risks, ecological effects of

biopesticides, the need for a transparent

and scientifically rigorous process for

setting conditions for registration and

use of independent expert advice, insect

resistance management, contamination

levels of neighboring crops, and the

participation of land grant university

corn IPM experts in the EUP were

concerns expressed during the comment

period. Health, environmental, and

agricultural benefits of corn rootworm

protected Bt corn were also noted.

Insect resistance management and

non-target organism research will be

part of the testing taking place under

these EUPs. Researchers will be looking

at field and population levels for a wide

variety of soil and surface dwelling

organisms, including all major

coleopteran species that are found in

corn systems. This will include work on

insects like collembola, carabids, and

other soil invertebrates like earthworms.

Land grant university researchers are

involved in many of these

investigations. Testing is not permitted

in the vicinity of endangered beetle

habitats. Based on the information

submitted, no significant or irreversible

hazards from Cry3Bb corn to non-target

organisms are anticipated for the

duration of these limited acreage

programs. These EUPs are crop destruct

and genetically contained. (Mike

Mendelsohn; Rm. 910W16, Crystal Mall

#2; telephone number: (703) 308–8715;

e-mail address:

mendelsohn.mike@epa.gov).

68467–EUP–2. Extensions/

Amendments. Mycogen Seeds c/o Dow

AgroSciences LLC, 9330 Zionsville

Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. The

amendments and extensions to this EUP

allow the use of the plant–pesticide

Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1F protein and

the genetic material necessary for its

production (plasmid insert PHI8999) in

corn plants. Notice of the original

issuance of the EUP was published in

the Federal Register on May 5, 1999 (64

FR 24161) (FRL–6078–2). Notices of

receipt for several amendments were

published in the Federal Register on

February 25, 2000 (65 FR 10081) (FRL–

6492–1) and on March 3, 2000 (65 FR

11575) (FRL–6495–8). On May 11, 1999,

the EUP was amended to modify the

containment provisions. On June 18,

1999, the EUP was amended to switch

acreage between different protocols in

the program at the same sites. On

January 27, 2000, the EUP was amended

to permit the planting of 55 acres in

Puerto Rico for agronomic observation

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2001 / Notices 4021

and Liberty herbicide tolerance studies.

On February 4, 2000, the EUP was

amended to permit the planting of 5

acres in Hawaii for agronomic

observation studies. Planting dates for

all amendments mentioned above

remained the same as permitted in the

original EUP issuance and genetic

isolation and crop destruct provisions

still applied. On March 31, 2000, the

EUP was extended/amended to allow

the planting of 145 acres of field corn

to evaluate the control of European corn

borer, Southwestern corn borer, fall

armyworm and black cutworm; to

perform agronomic and herbicide

tolerance observations; and to do

breeding and observation. The program

is authorized only in the States of

Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois,

Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,

Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi,

Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska,

North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio,

Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Tennessee,

Texas, and Wisconsin. This

amendment/extension of the EUP is

effective from March 31, 2000 to March

31, 2001. This amendment/extension to

the permit is issued with the limitation

that all treated crops will be genetically

contained and destroyed or used for

research purposes only. On April 21,

2000, the EUP was extended/amended

to allow the planting of an additional

947 acres of field corn to evaluate the

control of European corn borer,

Southwestern corn borer, fall armyworm

and black cutworm; to perform

agronomic and herbicide tolerance

observations; to do hybrid production,

breeding and observation; to study

anthesis length; and to study insect

resistance management. Additional

acreage under this amendment/

extension to the program is authorized

only in the States of Hawaii, Iowa,

Minnesota, and Nebraska. This

amendment/extension of the EUP is

effective from April 21, 2000 to March

31, 2001. This amendment/extension to

the permit is issued with the limitation

that all treated crops will be genetically

contained and destroyed or used for

research purposes only. Thirteen

comments were received in reply to the

Federal Register notice announcing

receipt of this amendment/extension.

Comments raised concerns about the

labeling of food resulting from Bt corn,

food safety, pollen shed/drift

contamination of adjacent organic crops,

the development of resistance to foliar

Bt, the impact of testing on the

Hawaiian environment, the impact on

Bt corn on farmers in Puerto Rico, and

the impact to non-target insects. Based

on the information submitted, no

significant or irreversible hazards from

Cry1F corn to non-target organisms are

anticipated for the duration of this

limited acreage program. This EUP and

the extension/amendments are crop

destruct and genetically contained.

(Mike Mendelsohn; Rm. 910W16,

Crystal Mall #2; telephone number:

(703) 308–8715; e-mail address:

mendelsohn.mike@epa.gov).

Persons wishing to review these EUPs

are referred to the designated contact

person. Inquiries concerning these

permits should be directed to the

persons cited above. It is suggested that

interested persons call before visiting

the EPA office, so that the appropriate

file may be made available for

inspection purposes from 8 a.m. to 4

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding

legal holidays.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection,

Experimental use permits.

Dated: January 10, 2001.

Janet L. Andersen,

Director, Biopesticides and Pollution

Prevention Division, Office of Pesticide

Programs.

[FR Doc. 01–1351 Filed 1–16–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6933–5]

Accidental Release Prevention

Requirements; Risk Management

Programs Under the Clean Air Act

Section 112(r)(7); Distribution of OffSite Consequence Analysis

Information; Development of ReadOnly Information Technology System

and Qualified Researcher System

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) is developing two

systems for providing access to

information about the potential off-site

consequences of accidental chemical

releases from industrial facilities. One

system would provide the public with

‘‘read-only’’ access to the information in

electronic database form. The other

system would provide qualified

researchers with access to the

information in paper or electronic

database form. Both systems are

required by section 112(r) of the Clean

Air Act, as revised by the Chemical

Safety Information, Site Security and

Fuels Regulatory Relief Act

(CSISSFRRA) of 1999. In this document

we describe draft plans for these

systems and request public comment on

the plans and related issues.

DATES: Comments should be submitted

by March 19, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed to: Environmental Protection

Agency, Office of Air and Radiation,

Docket and Information Center, Ariel

Rios Building, M6102, 1200

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington

DC, 20460, Attn: Docket No. A–2000–

58. By Federal Express or Courier:

Waterside Mall, Room M1500, 401 M

Street, SW, Washington DC 20460, Attn:

Docket No. A–2000–58. Comments may

be submitted on a disk in Wordperfect

or Word formats. Please submit

comments in duplicate. The draft plan

for a qualified researcher system and

supporting information used to develop

that plan and the draft plan for a ‘‘readonly’’ information system are contained

in Docket No. A–2000–58. The docket is

available for public inspection and

copying between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.,

Monday through Friday (except

government holidays), at Waterside

Mall, Room M1500, 401 M Street, S.W.,

Washington, DC 20460. A reasonable fee

may be charged for copying. The draft

qualified researcher plan and the

supporting information are also

available on the Internet at http://

www.epa.gov/ceppo or by calling the

Emergency Planning and Community

Right-to-Know Hotline at (800) 424–

9346 (in the Washington, DC

metropolitan area, (703) 412–9810).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dorothy McManus, Program Analyst,

(202) 564–8606, or Vanessa Rodriguez,

Chemical Engineer, (202) 564–7913,

Chemical Emergency Preparedness and

Prevention Office, Environmental

Protection Agency (5104), 1200

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Section 112(r)(7) of the Clean Air Act

(CAA) establishes a program for the

prevention and mitigation of industrial

chemical accidents that could harm the

surrounding community and

environment. Facilities subject to the

program are required to prepare risk

management plans (RMPs) that include

an analysis of the potential off-site

consequences of hypothetical worst-case

and alternative scenario chemical

releases.

Under section 112(r)(7) as originally

enacted, RMPs—including the off-site