[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36202-36204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-17398]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0365; FRL-8425-4]


Azinphos-methyl; Notice of Receipt of Request for Label 
Amendments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is seeking public comment on a June 18, 2009 request by 
azinphos-methyl (AZM) registrants to amend their registrations to 
change the rate reductions outlined in the November 16, 2006 final 
decision for some of the remaining uses of AZM, and to extend the use 
of aerial application on blueberries in Michigan through the end of the 
AZM phase out in 2012. On November 16, 2006, EPA issued a final 
decision to phase out all uses of AZM not later than September 30, 2012 
and to require certain interim risk mitigation measures through label 
changes. Risk mitigation measures in the final decision include buffer 
zones around water bodies and occupied structures, application rate 
reductions, and stewardship programs. The request by the registrants is 
a request to change some of the rate reductions and certain application 
practices that have been required through the end of the AZM phaseout; 
the registrants have not requested to extend the use of AZM beyond the 
September 30, 2012 cancellation date for the remaining uses of AZM.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 21, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments identified by the docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0365, by one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public 
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
    <bullet> Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South 
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket Facility's normal hours of operation (8:30 
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). 
Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to the docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OPP-2009-0365. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the docket without change and may be made available on-line 
at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-
mail. The regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, 
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part 
of the comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, 
some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other

[[Page 36203]]

material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet 
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either in the electronic 
docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard 
copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac 
Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of 
operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone 
number is (703) 305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Myers, Chemical Review Manager, 
Special Review and Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide 
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8589; fax 
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#81ecf8e4f3f2aff5eeecc1e4f1e0afe6eef7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6e03170b1c1d401a01032e0b1e0f40090118">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

 A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human 
health, farm worker, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; 
pesticide users; and members of the public interested in the sale, 
distribution, or use of pesticides. Since others also may be 
interested, 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 applicability of this action to a particular entity, 
consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

 B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and 
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.


II. Background on the Receipt of Requests for AZM Label Amendments

    AZM is an organophosphate insecticide that was first registered in 
the United States in 1959. On November 16, 2006, EPA issued a 
determination that due to farm worker and ecological risks all 
remaining uses of AZM will be phased out by 2012. The AZM registrants, 
at the request of EPA, submitted registration amendment and voluntary 
cancellation requests to terminate certain uses in 2007 and 2009 and 
cancel all remaining AZM product registrations in 2012, subject to 
certain terms and conditions. A cancellation order for the remaining 
uses of AZM was published in the Federal Register on February 20, 2008 
(73 FR 9328) (FRL-8349-8). A correction of typographical errors in the 
February 20, 2008 Federal Register notice was issued on March 26, 2008 
(73 FR 16006) (FRL-8355-1). Subject to the terms and conditions 
described in Unit II. of the February 20, 2008 notice, the AZM product 
registrations were cancelled and amended as follows: Use of AZM 
products on Brussels sprouts and nursery stock was prohibited as of 
September 30, 2008. Use of AZM products on walnuts, almonds, and 
pistachios is prohibited effective October 30, 2009. All AZM products 
currently held by registrants are cancelled effective September 30, 
2012 (ending use on apples/crabapples, blueberries, cherries, pears, 
and parsley). In addition to the aforementioned use deletions and 
product cancellations, the use of AZM was increasingly limited during 
the phase out period through application rate reductions and other 
label restrictions, including buffer zones around water bodies and 
occupied structures. The application rate reductions required in the 
AZM Final Decision document are located in Table 1.

 Table 1.--Rate Reductions Required in the AZM Final Decision Document,
                        dated November 16, 2006.
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Crop                       Year                Rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apples, Crabapples                2007                4.0 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                  2008, 2009          3.0 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                  2010                2.0 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                  2011, 2012          1.5 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pears                             2007, 2008          3.0 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                  2009, 2010          2.0 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                  2011, 2012          1.5 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cherries                          2007, 2008, 2009    1.5 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                  2010, 2011, 2012    0.75 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blueberries                       2007                1.5 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                  2008, 2009          1.25 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                  2010, 2011, 2012    0.75 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                      After September 30, 2009 aerial
                                       application on blueberries is
                                                prohibited.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The additional label changes required are described in the document 
``Final Decisions for the Remaining Uses of Azinphos-methyl, US EPA, 
November 16, 2006,'' located in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0061.

[[Page 36204]]

III. What Action is the Agency Taking?

     This notice announces receipt by EPA of a request from registrants 
to amend registrations to alter the rate reductions outlined in the 
November 16, 2006 Final Decision for the Remaining Uses of AZM, and to 
extend the use of aerial application on blueberries in Michigan through 
the end of the AZM phase out. The registrants have requested that for 
apples/crabapples, blueberries, cherries, and pears that growers be 
allowed to use higher applications rates than originally required in 
the Final Decision document of November 16, 2006. Additionally, 
registrants have requested that the aerial use of AZM on blueberries, 
currently scheduled to be prohibited starting January 1, 2010, be 
allowed through the end of the phaseout (September 30, 2012). The 
request by the registrants would change some of the rate reductions and 
certain application practices that have been required through the end 
of the AZM phaseout; the registrants have not requested to extend use 
of AZM beyond the September 30, 2012 cancellation date for the 
remaining uses of AZM. The changes requested by the registrants are 
listed in the Table 2.

 Table 2.--Requested AZM Label Changes as Described in the June 18, 2009
                          Registrant Submission
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Crop                       Year                Rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apples, Crabapples                2010, 2011, 2012    2.0 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pears                             2010, 2011, 2012    2.0 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cherries                          2010, 2011, 2012    1.5 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blueberries                       2010, 2011, 2012    1.0 lbs ai/A per
                                                       year
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                      Maintain aerial application on
                                     blueberries through September 30,
                                                   2012.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Agency is requesting comment on the registrant submission to 
amend registrations. The registrant request letter is in the docket for 
comment, along with an EPA-produced document with considerations for 
commenters on the registrant request. The Agency welcomes comments from 
all stakeholders, as well as any new information on human health or 
environmental risks not previously considered.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests, Azinphos-methyl.

    Dated: July 15, 2009.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-17398 Filed 7-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S


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