E7-351. Rodenticides; Proposed Risk Mitigation Decision; Notice of Availability

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces the availability of EPA's proposed risk mitigation decision for nine rodenticides, the economic impact assessment for the proposed risk mitigation decision, the revised comparative ecological risk assessment, updated human health and ecological incident reports, and other related documents, and opens a 60-day public comment period on the proposed risk mitigation decision. The nine rodenticides covered by this risk mitigation decision are brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone, chlorophacinone, diphacinone, warfarin, zinc phosphide, bromethalin, and cholecalciferol. As part of the proposed risk mitigation decision, EPA anticipates classifying all products containing the active ingredients brodifacoum, bromadiolone, and difethialone as restricted use products. EPA also anticipates requiring that all products available for sale to consumers be sold only in refillable tamper-resistant bait stations. Furthermore, EPA is proposing certain additional restrictions and labeling improvements to mitigate the risks associated with these nine rodenticides.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before March 19, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0955, by one of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
• Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only accepted during the Docket'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 telephone number is [phone].

Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0955. 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 Federal 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. 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 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 Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, 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 telephone number is [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kelly Sherman, Special Review and Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; e-mail address: [e-mail] or Laura Parsons, Special Review and Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; e-mail address: [e-mail].

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, 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

A. What Action is the Agency Taking?

EPA is making available the proposed risk mitigation decision document and related supporting documents for the following nine rodenticides: brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone, chlorophacinone, diphacinone, warfarin, zinc phosphide, bromethalin, and cholecalciferol.

Based on an evaluation of the ecological risks associated with the use of these nine rodenticides, and consideration of the public health and other important benefits of the use of rodenticides, EPA anticipates classifying all products containing the active ingredients brodifacoum, bromadiolone, and difethialone as restricted use products. To decrease the incidence of childrens' exposure to rodenticide products used in homes, EPA also anticipates requiring that all products available for sale to consumers and labeled for indoor residential use be sold only in refillable tamper-resistant bait stations. Furthermore, EPA is proposing certain additional restrictions and labeling improvements to mitigate the risks associated with these nine rodenticides.

The proposed decision document, including the Agency's supporting rationale for the proposed decision, can be found in docket identification number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0955 at http://www.regulations.gov. Older documents and previous public comments can be found in docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0033 or docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2002-0049 at http://www.regulations.gov.

EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for interested parties to provide comments and input on the Agency's proposed decision for rodenticides. Comments should be limited to issues raised by the proposed decision and associated documents.

All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES, and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. These comments will become part of the Agency Docket for rodenticides. Comments received after the close of the comment period will be marked “late.” EPA is not required to consider these late comments.

The Agency will carefully consider all comments received by the closing date and will provide a Response to Comments Memorandum in the Docket and regulations.gov. After consideration of the comments, the Agency will publish its final mitigation decision for these nine rodenticides.

B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?

EPA is reevaluating the use of these nine rodenticides pursuant to section 4 of FIFRA. The Agency's authority for implementing the risk mitigation measures identified in the proposed risk management decision would derive from various sections of FIFRA, including, but not limited to, sections 3, 4 and 6.

List of Subjects

• Environmental protection
• Pesticides and pests

Dated: January 8, 2007.

Debra Edwards,

Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.