E9-25347. Notice of Receipt of a Pesticide Petition Filed for Residues of a Pesticide Chemical in or on Various Commodities

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces the Agency's receipt of an initial filing of a pesticide petition proposing the establishment/modification of regulations for residues of the biochemical pesticide 2,6-diisopropylnaphthalene (2,6-DIPN) in or on various food commodities.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before November 2, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0802 and the pesticide petition (PP) number 9F7626, 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 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 [phone].

Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0802 and the pesticide petition number 9F7626. 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 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 [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Leonard Cole, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division (7511P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: [phone]; e-mail address: [e-mail].

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 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.

3. Environmental justice. EPA seeks to achieve environmental justice, the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of any group, including minority and/or low-income populations, in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. To help address potential environmental justice issues, the Agency seeks information on any groups or segments of the population who, as a result of their location, cultural practices, or other factors, may have atypical or disproportionately high and adverse human health impacts or environmental effects from exposure to the biochemical pesticide discussed in this document, compared to the general population.

II. What Action is the Agency Taking?

EPA is announcing receipt of a pesticide petition filed under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 346a, proposing the establishment/modification of regulations in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the biopesticide chemical 2,6-DIPN in or on various food commodities. EPA has determined that the pesticide petition described in this notice contains data or information prescribed in FFDCA section 408(d)(2); however, EPA has not fully evaluated the sufficiency of the submitted data at this time or whether the data supports granting of the petition. Additional data may be needed before EPA can make a final determination on this petition.

Pursuant to 40 CFR 180.7(f), a summary of the petition that is the subject of this notice, prepared by the petitioner, is included in a docket EPA has created for this rulemaking. The docket for this petition is available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov.

As specified in FFDCA section 408(d)(3), (21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(3)), EPA is publishing notice of the petition so that the public has an opportunity to comment on this request for the establishment/modification of regulations for residues of 2,6-DIPN in or on various food commodities. Further information on the petition may be obtained through the petition summary referenced in this unit.

EPA has received a pesticide petition PP 9F7626 from Loveland Products Inc., 7251 W. 4th Street, Greeley, CO 80634 proposing pursuant to section 408(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C.346a(d) to amend 40 CFR part 180 by establishing permanent tolerances for residues of the biochemical pesticide 2,6-DIPN in or on the following food commodities: Cattle, fat at 0.8 ppm; cattle, liver at 0.3 ppm; cattle, meat at 0.1 ppm; cattle, meat byproducts at 0.1 ppm; goat, fat at 0.8 ppm; goat, liver at 0.3 ppm; goat, meat at 0.1 ppm; goat, meat byproducts at 0.1 ppm; hog, fat at 0.8 ppm; hog, liver at 0.3 ppm; hog, meat at 0.1 ppm; hog, meat byproducts at 0.1 ppm; horse, fat at 0.8 ppm; horse, liver at 0.3 ppm; horse, meat at 0.1 ppm; horse, meat byproducts at 0.1 ppm; milk at 0.1 ppm; potato at 2.0 ppm; potato, wet peel at 6.0 ppm; sheep, fat at 0.8 ppm; sheep, liver at 0.3 ppm; sheep, meat at 0.1 ppm; and sheep, meat byproducts at 0.1 ppm. The proposed tolerance levels are based on results of studies on the magnitude of 2,6-DIPN in potatoes and processed potatoes and in livestock edible commodities. EPA issued a final rule, published in the Federal Register of September 1, 2006 (71 FR 52003) (FRL-8081-9), which announced that it established time-limited tolerances for residues of the biochemical pesticide 2,6-DIPN in or on the above-listed commodities, with an expiration date of August 1, 2009. Because of a then-existing data gap, all initial tolerances were time-limited. The time limitation was established to provide sufficient time for the development and review of additional data, specifically a study on the nature of 2,6-DIPN residues in potatoes and animals, an independent laboratory validation of analytical methods in animal tissues, and a multiresidue method tryout. Loveland Products Inc. submitted the study on the nature of the residues in plants and animals on July 24, 2009, and a multiresidue method tryout report on October 8, 2009.

EPA is providing a shortened comment period of 10 days on this notice of filing. EPA is expediting action on this petition because the time-limited tolerances for 2,6-DIPN have expired. EPA has determined that 2,6-DIPN is a reduced risk pesticide and, given its wide-scale use on potatoes in cold storage, that it is in the public interest to have this reduced risk pesticide available as soon as possible for use on this valuable commodity. Application of 2,6-DIPN on stored potatoes decreases the number of applications necessary for a conventional pesticide on stored potatoes, thus posing less risks and providing better efficacy. EPA has previously evaluated the toxicity of 2,6-DIPN and determined that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result from dietary exposure to residues of 2,6-DIPN at the requested tolerance levels. Thus, EPA does not anticipate receiving any adverse comments on the subject petition. For these reasons, EPA is expediting the processing of this petition and is confident that a shortened 10-day comment period on the petition is appropriate.

List of Subjects

• Environmental protection
• Agricultural commodities
• Feed additives
• Food additives
• Pesticides and pests
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements

Dated: October 15, 2009.

Keith A. Matthews,

Acting Director, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.