28578 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 5, 1996 / Notices

of the Clean Air Act Amendments of

1990, will release of its draft report on

June 13 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

at the J. W. Marriott, 1331 Pennsylvania

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20004.

Earlier it was reported that the meeting

would take place at 1:00 p.m. at the

National Press Building; however, that

has been changed to the earlier time and

new location.

There will be a briefing and the draft

report will be available to the public at

that time. If you are unable to attend,

but wish to receive a copy of the draft

report, either fax your request to 202–

233–9540, mail your request to the

Commission on Risk Assessment and

Risk Management, 529 14th Street, NW.,

Room 452, Washington, DC 20045, or

obtain via the Internet at http://

www.riskworld.com. Be sure to indicate

your complete mailing address and a

phone number where you can be

reached. If you have already requested

a copy of the draft report, it is not

necessary to send another request.

Comments on the draft report are

welcomed by July 18, 1996. Those

comments will be considered for

discussion at a public meeting in

Boston, MA on July 23 from 1 p.m. until

5 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Federal

Building, One Congress Street, Boston,

MA 02203–0001 in conference room 11

A & B on the 11th floor. Comments not

received by July 18 must be received no

later than August 9, 1996 for

consideration prior to the completion of

the final report. Please send your

comments to the Commission on Risk

Assessment and Risk Management

address listed above.

If you need additional information,

please call 202–233–9537. The report

will not be available prior to June 13th.

Dated: May 23, 1996.

Gail Charnley,

Executive Director, Commission on Risk

Assessment and Risk Management.

[FR Doc. 96–13984 Filed 6–4–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–M

[OPPTS–00187; FRL–5375–8]

Forum on State and Tribal Toxics

Action (FOSTTA) Projects; Open

Meetings

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of open meetings.

SUMMARY: The four Projects of the

Forum on State and Tribal Toxics

Action (FOSTTA) will hold meetings

open to the public at the time and place

listed below in this notice. The public

is encouraged to attend the proceedings

as observers. However, in the interest of

time and efficiency, the meeting is

structured to provide maximum

opportunity for state, tribal, and EPA

invited participants to discuss items on

the predetermined agenda. At the

discretion of the chair of the project, an

effort will be made to accommodate

participation by observers attending the

proceedings.

DATES: The four Projects will meet June

24, 1996, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a

plenary session including a brief update

on the ‘‘State Access to Confidential

Business Information Data Project’’ and

ISO 14001 from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and

on June 25, 1996, from 8 a.m. to noon.

Any observer wishing to speak should

advise the Designated Federal Official,

Darlene Harrod, at the telephone

number or e-mail address listed below

no later than 4 p.m. on June 17, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at

The Holiday Inn, 480 King St.,

Alexandria, VA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Darlene Harrod, Office of Pollution

Prevention and Toxics (7408),

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460,

Telephone: (202) 260-6904, e-mail:

harrod.darlene@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FOSTTA,

a group of state and tribal toxics

environmental managers, is intended to

foster the exchange of toxics-related

program and enforcement information

among the states/tribes and between the

states/tribes and EPA’s Office of

Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic

Substances (OPPTS) and Office of

Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

(OECA). FOSTTA currently consists of

the Coordinating Committee and four

issue-specific Projects. The Projects are:

(1) The Toxics Release Inventory

Project; (2) The State and Tribal

Enhancement Project; (3) The Chemical

Management Project; and (4) The Lead

(Pb) Project.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection.

Dated: May 29, 1996.

Susan B. Hazen,

Director, Environmental Assistance Division,

Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

[FR Doc. 96–14081 Filed 6–4–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

[OPP–300427; FRL–5374–8]

Iprodione; Request for Comment on

Petition to Revoke Food Additive

Regulations for Raisins and Dried

Ginseng

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of receipt and

availability of petition.

SUMMARY: This document announces the

receipt of and solicits comments on a

petition proposing the revocation of the

section 409 food additive regulation

established under the Federal Food,

Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), for

iprodione in or on raisins and dried

ginseng. This notice sets forth the basis

for the petitioner’s proposal and

provides opportunity for comment by

the public.

DATES: Written comments, identified by

the docket number [OPP–300427] must

be received on or before July 5, 1996.

ADDRESSES: By mail, requests for copies

of the petition and comments should be

forwarded to Public Response and

Program Resources Branch, Field

Operations Division (7506C), Office of

pesticide Programs, 401 M St., SW.,

Washington, DC 20460. Copies of the

petition will be available for public

inspection in the public docket from 8

a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except legal holidays, in Rm.

1132, CM #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy.,

Arlington, VA. The telephone number of

the docket is 703–305–5805.

Information submitted as a comment

concerning this document may be

claimed confidential by marking any

part or all of that information as

‘‘Confidential Business Information’’

(CBI). Information so marked will not be

disclosed except in accordance with

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

A copy of the comment that does not

contain CBI must be submitted for

inclusion in the public record.

Information not marked confidential

may be disclosed publicly by EPA

without prior notice. All written

comments will be available for public

inspection at the address and hours

given above.

Comments and data may also be

submitted electronically by sending

electronic mail (e-mail) to: oppdocket@epamail.epa.gov. Electronic

comments must be submitted as an

ASCII file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

Comments and data will also be

accepted on disks in WordPerfect 5.1

file format or ASCII file format. All

comments and data in electronic form

must be identified by the docket number
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 5, 1996 / Notices 28579

[OPP–300427]. No CBI should be

submitted through e-mail. Electronic

comments on this document may be

filed online at any Federal Depository

Library. Additional information on

electronic submissions can be found

below in this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By

mail: Niloufar Nazmi, Special Review

and Reregistration Division (7508W),

Office of Pesticide Programs,

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.

Office location and telephone number:

Rm. WF32C5, Crystal Station #1, 2800

Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA,

Telephone: 703–308–8028, e-mail:

nazmi.niloufar@epamil.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic

Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.,

authorizes the establishment by

regulation of maximum permissible

levels of pesticides in foods. Such

regulations are commonly referred to as

‘‘tolerances.’’ Without such a tolerance

or an exemption from the requirement

of a tolerance, a food containing a

pesticide residue is ‘‘adulterated’’ under

section 402 of the FFDCA and may not

be legally moved in interstate

commerce. 21 U.S.C. 331, 342. EPA was

authorized to establish pesticide

tolerances under Reorganization Plan

No. 3 of 1970. 5 U.S.C. App. at 1343

(1988). Monitoring and enforcement of

pesticide tolerances are carried out by

the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

(FDA) and the U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA). EPA can establish

a tolerance in response to a petition

(FFDCA section 408(d)(1), 409(b)(1)), or

on its own initiative (FFDCA sections

408(e), 409(d)).

The FFDCA has separate provisions

for tolerances for pesticide residues on

raw agricultural commodities (RACs)

and tolerances on processed food. For

pesticide residues in or on RACs, EPA

establishes tolerances, or exemptions

from tolerances when appropriate,

under FFDCA section 408. 21 U.S.C.

346a. EPA regulates pesticide residues

in processed foods under FFDCA

section 409, which pertains to ‘‘food

additives.’’ 21 U.S.C. 348. Maximum

residue regulations established under

section 409 are commonly referred to as

food additive regulations (hereafter

referred to as ‘‘FARs’’). Section 409

FARs are needed, however, only for

certain pesticide residues in processed

food. Under section 402(a)(2) of the

FFDCA, a pesticide residue in processed

food generally will not render the food

adulterated if the residue results from

application of the pesticide to a RAC

and the residue in the processed food

when ready to eat is below the RAC

tolerance. This exemption in section

402(a)(2) is commonly referred to as the

‘‘flow-through’’ provision because it

allows the section 408 raw food

tolerance to flow through to the

processed food forms. Thus, a section

409 FAR is only necessary to prevent

foods from being deemed adulterated

when the level of the pesticide residue

in a processed food when ready to eat

is greater than the tolerance prescribed

for the RAC, or if the processed food

itself is treated or comes in contact with

a pesticide. If a FAR must be

established, section 409 of the FFDCA

requires that the use of the pesticide

will be ‘‘safe’’ (21 U.S.C. 348(c)(3)).

Relevant factors in this safety

determination include (1) the probable

consumption of the pesticide or its

metabolites; (2) the cumulative effect of

the pesticide in the diet of man or

animals, taking into account any related

substances in the diet; and (3)

appropriate safety factors to relate the

animal data to the human risk

evaluation. Section 409 also contains

the Delaney clause, which specifically

provides that ‘‘no additive shall be

deemed safe if it has been found, after

tests which are appropriate for the

evaluation of the safety of food

additives, to induce cancer when

ingested by man or animal.’’

FARs are currently established in 40

CFR 185.3750 for iprodione in or on

dried ginseng and raisin.

II. Petition

A. Raisins

Rhone-Poulenc is proposing labeling

restrictions which would prohibit the

use of iprodione products on grapes

used to produce raisins. The Petitioner

believes that enforcement of the label

restriction is possible because: (1) Early

in the growing season, several cultural

practices differentiate grapes grown for

raisin production from those grown for

table or wine grape; and 2) raisins are

the only commodity produced from

raisin grapes and introduced into

commerce. Rhone-Poulenc contends

that a less elaborate trellis system is

used for raisin grapes than for table

grapes. In addition, raisin grapes are not

irrigated after early August whereas the

table and wine grapes require irrigation

late into the season. Furthermore,

producers growing grapes for table use

tend to use gibberellin early in the

season to increase size which makes

those grapes undesirable as raisins.

Rhone-Poulenc also claims that all

raisins are sold under a contract with a

buyer, prior to the beginning of the

growing season. Therefore, grapes

intended to be grown for table use or

wine production would never be sold as

raisins.

To ensure compliance with the

proposed label restriction, RhonePoulenc commits to conducting an

industry educational program. This

effort would be in California which is

the only state where raisins are

commercially produced. The program

would target the Licensed Pest Control

Advisors (PCA), reseller, County

Agricultural Commissioner, and raisin

buyers to inform them of the label

restriction.

Rhone-Poulenc proposes to:

(1) Develop a direct mail notice to the

PCAs in the predominant raisin growing

counties of Fresno, Tulare, and Madera,

in California.

(2) Develop a product bulletin for

Rhone-Poulenc’s sales associates to

distribute to resellers and County

Agricultural Commissioners.

(3) Place the label restriction in the

Crop Data Management System (CDMS).

The Petitioner claims that 80 to 90

percent of the recommendations written

by a PCA are generated by computer

through CDMS.

(4) Communicate in person with the

management of raisin buying companies

such as SunMaid. Rhone-Poulenc will

attempt to have these companies put in

writing, that they will not accept any

raisins treated with iprodione products.

B. Dried Ginseng

The petitioner claims that ginseng is

not a ready-to-eat commodity because of

the significant amount of dilution of

dried ginseng in preparation of a readyto-eat food. According to RhonePoulenc, once dried ginseng is in its

ready-to-eat form, residues are unlikely

to exceed the RAC tolerance.

EPA isvites comment on the petition

to withdraw the food additive regulation

for raisins and dried ginseng.

It should be noted that on January 18,

1995, EPA published a proposed rule in

the Federal Register to revoke the

section 409 FAR for iprodione in or on

dried ginseng and raisins. That proposal

was based on a determination that

iprodione induces cancer in animals,

and thus, the regulation violates the

Delaney clause in section 409 of the

FFDCA. However, the Agency could

finalize revocation of the dried ginseng

and raisin regulation on the grounds

requested in the petition announced in

this notice.

Pursuant to 40 CFR 177.125 and

177.130, EPA may issue an order ruling

on the petition or may issue a proposal

in response to the petition and seek

further comment. If EPA issues an order
28580 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 5, 1996 / Notices

in response to the petition, any person

adversely affected by the order may file

written objections and a request for a

hearing on those objections with EPA on

or before the 30th day after date of the

publication of the order, (40 CFR

178.20).

A record has been established for this

document under docket number [OPP–

300427] (including comments and data

submitted electronically as described

below). A public version of this record,

including printed, paper versions of

electronic comments, which does not

include any information claimed as CBI,

is available for inspection from 8 a.m. to

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

excluding legal holidays. The public

record is located in Room 1132 of the

Public Response and Program Resources

Branch, Field Operations Division

(7506C), Office of Pesticide Programs,

Environmental Protection Agency,

Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis

Highway, Arlington, VA.

Electronic comments can be sent

directly to EPA at:

OPP-Docket@epamail.epa.gov

Electronic comments must be

submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption. The official record for

this document, as well as the public

version, as described above will be kept

in paper form. Accordingly, EPA will

transfer all comments received

electronically into printed, paper form

as they are received and will place the

paper copies in the official record which

will also include all comments

submitted directly in writing. The

official record is the paper record

maintained at the address in

ADDRESSES at the beginning of this

document.

Dated: May 23, 1996.

Daniel M. Barolo,

Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 96–13823 Filed 6–4–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

[PP 5E4477 and 5E4478/T689; FRL 5371–

2]

EarthGro Inc.; Establishment of

Exemptions From Requirement of

Tolerances

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: EPA has established

exemptions from the requirement of

tolerances for Flavobacterium

balustinum strain 299 (ATCC 53198)

and Trichoderma hamatum isolate 382

(ATCC 20765) in or on certain raw

agricultural commodities.

DATES: These temporary exemptions

from the requirement of tolerances

expire March 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By

mail: Diana Horne, Biopesticides and

Pollution Prevention Division (7501W),

Office of Pesticide Programs,

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.

Office location and telephone number:

Rm., Crystal Station, 5th Fl., 2800

Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA (703) 308–

8367; e-mail:

horne.diana@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Earthgro,

Inc., Route 207, P.O. Box 143, Lebanon,

CT 06249, has requested in pesticide

petitions (PP) 5E4477 and 5E4478 the

establishment of exemptions from the

requirement of tolerances for use on

selected ornamentals and vegetable

bedding plants in or on certain raw

agricultural commodities as follows:

1. Pesticide petition (PP) 5E4477 has

established an exemption from the

requirement of a tolerance for

Flavobacterium balustinum strain 299

(ATCC 53198) for use on selected

ornamentals and vegetable bedding

plants in or on the raw agricultural

commodities broccoli, cabbage,

cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant,

lettuce, cantaloupe, pepper, tomato and

watermelon.

2. Pesticide petition (PP) 5E4478 has

established an exemption from the

requirement of a tolerance for

Trichoderma hamatum isolate 382

(ATCC 20765) for use on selected

ornamentals and vegetable bedding

plants in or on the raw agricultural

commodities broccoli, cabbage,

cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant,

lettuce, cantaloupe, pepper, tomato and

watermelon.

These temporary exemptions from the

requirement of tolerances will permit

the marketing of the above raw

agricultural commodities when treated

in accordance with the provisions of

experimental use permit 69006–EUP–1,

which is being issued under the Federal

Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide

Act (FIFRA), as amended (Pub. L. 95–

396, 92 Stat. 819; 7 U.S.C. 136).

The scientific data reported and other

relevant material were evaluated, and it

was determined that exemptions from

the requirement of tolerances will

protect the public health. Therefore, the

temporary exemptions from the

requirement of tolerances have been

established on the condition that the

pesticides be used in accordance with

the experimental use permit and with

the following provisions:

1. The total amount of the active

ingredients to be use must not exceed

the quantity authorized by the

experimental use permit.

2. Earthgro, Inc., must immediately

notify the EPA of any findings from the

experimental use that have a bearing on

safety. The company must also keep

records of production, distribution, and

performance and on request make the

records available to any authorized

officer or employee of the EPA or the

Food and Drug Administration.

These temporary exemptions from the

requirement of tolerances expire March

1, 1998. Residues remaining in or on all

raw agricultural commodities after this

expiration date will not be considered

actionable if the pesticides are legally

applied during the term of, and in

accordance with, the provisions of the

experimental use permit and temporary

exemptions from the requirement of

tolerances. These temporary exemptions

from the requirement of tolerances may

be revoked if the experimental use

permit is revoked or if any experience

with or scientific data on this pesticide

indicate that such revocation is

necessary to protect the public health.

The Office of Management and Budget

has exempted this notice from the

requirement of section 3 of Executive

Order 12866.

Pursuant to the requirements of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96–

354, 94 Stat. 1164, 5 U.S.C. 601–612),

the Administrator has determined that

regulations establishing new tolerances

or raising tolerance levels or

establishing exemptions from tolerance

requirements do not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. A certification

statement to this effect was published in

the Federal Register of May 4, 1981 (46

FR 24950).

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 346a(j).

List of Subjects

Environmental protection,

Administative practice and procedure,

Agricultural commodities, Pesticides

and pests, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Dated: May 20, 1996.

Janet L. Andersen,

Acting Director, Biopesticides and Pollution

Prevention Division, Office of Pesticide

Programs.

[FR Doc. 96–13822 Filed 6–4–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F