Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0015-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Potassium Chloride; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, Solicitation of Public Comment
Posted Date: 2006-02-01T13:39:42Z

[Federal Register: February 1, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 21)]
[Notices]               
[Page 5323-5325]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01fe06-77]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0015; FRL-7758-3]

 
Potassium Chloride; Receipt of Application for Emergency 
Exemption, Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA has received a quarantine exemption request from the 
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service to use the 
pesticide potassium chloride (CAS No. 7447-40-7) to treat the Millbrook 
Quarry to control zebra mussels. The Applicant proposes the use of a 
new chemical which has not been registered by EPA. Due to the urgent 
nature of the emergency and the very narrow and extremely limited use 
being requested, EPA has eliminated the public comment period. 
Nonetheless, interested parties may still contact the Agency with 
comments about this notice and treatment program.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0015, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: opp-docket@epa.gov.
     Mail: Public Information and Records Integrity Branch 
(PIRIB) (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001.
    Hand Delivery: Public Information and Records Integrity Branch 
(PIRIB) (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental 
Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal Mall 2, 1801 S. Bell St., 
Arlington, VA, Attention: Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0015. The 
docket facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The

[[Page 5324]]

telephone number for the docket facility is (703) 305-5805. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2006-0015. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public 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 captured automatically and included as part 
of the comment that is placed in the public 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. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/docket.htm/.

    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
regulation.gov index. Although listed in the index, some information is 
not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information whose disclosure 
is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either electronically at 
http://www.regulations.gov/ or in hard copy at the Public Information 

and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB) (7502C), Office of Pesticide 
Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal Mall 
2, 1801 S. Bell St., Arlington, VA. The docket facility is 
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The telephone number for the docket facility is (703) 305-
5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Ertman, Registration Division 
(7505C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone 
number: (703) 308-9367; fax number: (703) 308-5433; e-mail address: 
Sec-18-Mailbox@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
Potentially affected entities may include, but are not limited to:
     Crop production (NAICS code 111)
     Animal production (NAICS code 112)
     Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311)
     Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532)
    This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides 
a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this 
action. Other types of entities not listed in this unit could also be 
affected. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 
codes have been provided to assist you and others in determining 
whether this action might apply to certain entities. 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 
http://www.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 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.

II. Background

A. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    Under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the discretion of the 
Administrator, a Federal or State agency may be exempted from any 
provision of FIFRA if the Administrator determines that emergency 
conditions exist which require the exemption. Virginia Department of 
Agriculture and Consumer Service has requested the Administrator to 
issue a quarantine exemption for the use of potassium chloride to treat 
the Millbrook Quarry to control zebra mussels. Information in 
accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was submitted as part of this request.
    As part of this request, the Applicant asserts that the zebra 
mussels need to be eradicated from the Millbrook Quarry while they are 
still contained and before they enter another local body of water. 
Zebra mussels are an invasive species and to date have caused billions 
of dollars of damage in the United States. The state contends that the 
zebra mussel could have significant adverse short-term and long-term 
ecological and economic impacts in Virginia. The quarry is separated 
from Broad Run by a 200 - 300 foot-wide berm. Lake Manassas 
(51/89/21/13/23/85/83/8 miles downstream from the quarry) 
serves as the primary water supply for the City of Manassas and a 
number of municipalities in the area. And downstream of Lake Manassas 
is the Occoquan Reservoir, which serves a

[[Page 5325]]

larger water supply capacity (over 1 million people in Northern 
Virginia) and a number of power supply facilities that could be 
significantly affected if zebra mussels escape to infest the Occoquan 
watershed. Fairfax Water estimates that they would incur a $2 - $4 
million capital outlay for chemical feed facilities and $500,000 - 
$850,000 per year for chemicals and system maintenance.
    The Applicant proposes to make 1 to 4 applications of a 12% liquid 
potassium stock solution mixed from muriate of potash. Two-hundred 
million gallons of water in the quarry will be treated with 128,000 
kilograms of active ingredient (131,000 kg of dry muriate of potash).
    This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the 
application itself. The regulations governing section 18 of FIFRA 
require publication of a notice of receipt of an application for a 
quarantine exemption proposing ``use of a new chemical (i.e., an active 
ingredient) which has not been registered by the EPA.''
    As noted above, the Agency is eliminating the comment period due to 
the urgent nature of emergency situation and the very narrow and 
extremely limited use being requested. Nonetheless, interested parties 
may still contact the Agency with comments about this notice and 
treatment program.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: January 20, 2006.
Donald R. Stubbs,
Acting Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 06-936 Filed 1-31-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-S