[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 222 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63035-63036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-29900]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-34208; FRL-6394-7]
Methidathion and Oxydemethon-Methyl, Revised Pesticide Risk
Assessments; Notice of Public Meeting
AGENCY:Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: EPA will hold a public meeting to present the revised risk
assessments for two organophosphate pesticides, methidathion and
oxydemethon-methyl, to interested stakeholders. This public meeting,
called a ``Technical Briefing,'' will provide an opportunity for
stakeholders
[[Page 63036]]
to learn about the data, information, and methodologies that the Agency
used in revising its risk assessments for methidathion and oxydemethon-
methyl. In addition, representatives of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) will also provide ideas on possible risk management
for methidathion and oxydemethon-methyl.
DATES: The technical briefing will be held on Wednesday, December 8,
1999, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The technical briefing will be held at the Holiday Inn
Capital Plaza, 300 J St., Sacramento, CA ((916) 446-0100).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Karen Angulo, Special Review
and Registration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (703) 308-8004; e-mail address: angulo.karen@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action applies to the public in general. As such, the Agency
has not attempted to specifically describe all the entities potentially
affected by this action. The Agency believes that a wide range of
stakeholders will be interested in technical briefings on
organophosphates, including environmental, human health, and
agricultural advocates, the chemical industry, pesticide users, and
members of the public interested in the use of pesticides on food. 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. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this
Document and Other Related Documents?
1.Electronically. You may obtain electronic copies of this
document, and certain other related documents that might be available
electronically, from the EPA Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov/.
To access this document, on the Home Page select ``Laws and
Regulations'' and then look up the entry for this document under the
``Federal Register--Environmental Documents.'' You can also go directly
to the Federal Register listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
To access information about organophosphate pesticides, you can
also go directly to the Home Page for the Office of Pesticide Programs
(OPP) at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/. In addition, there is a
brief summary now available for both methidathion and oxydemethon-
methyl revised risk assessments at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/
status.htm/, as well as in paper as part of the public version of the
official record as described in Unit I.B.2.
2. In person. The Agency has established an official record for
organophosphates methidathion and oxydemethon-methyl under docket
control numbers OPP-34172A for methidathion and OPP-34167A for
oxydemethon-methyl. The official record consists of the documents
specifically referenced in this action, and other information related
to this action, including any information claimed as Confidential
Business Information (CBI). This official record includes the documents
that are physically located in the docket, as well as the documents
that are referenced in those documents. The public version of the
official record does not include any information claimed as CBI. The
public version of the official record, which includes printed, paper
versions of any electronic comments submitted during an applicable
comment period is available for inspection in the Public Information
and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921
Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB telephone number is
(703) 305-5805.
II. What Action is the Agency Taking?
This document announces the Agency's intention to hold a technical
briefing for the organophosphate pesticides, methidathion and
oxydemethon-methyl. The Agency is presenting the revised risk
assessments for methidathion and oxydemethon-methyl to interested
stakeholders. This technical briefing is designed to provide
stakeholders with an opportunity to become even more informed about an
organophosphate's risk assessment. EPA will describe in detail the
revised risk assessments: Including the major points (e.g.,
contributors to risk estimates); how public comment on the preliminary
risk assessment affected the revised risk assessment; and the pesticide
use information/data that was used in developing the revised risk
assessment. Stakeholders will have an opportunity to ask clarifying
questions. In addition, representatives of the USDA will provide ideas
on possible risk management.
The technical briefing is part of the pilot public participation
process that EPA and USDA are now using for involving the public in the
reassessment of pesticide tolerances under the Food Quality Protection
Act (FQPA), and the reregistration of individual organophosphate
pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act (FIFRA). The pilot public participation process was developed as
part of the EPA-USDA Tolerance Reassessment Advisory Committee (TRAC),
which was established in April 1998 as a subcommittee under the
auspices of EPA's National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy
and Technology. A goal of the pilot public participation process is to
find a more effective way for the public to participate at critical
junctures in the Agency's development of organophosphate risk
assessment and risk management decisions. EPA and USDA began
implementing this pilot process in August 1998 in response to Vice
President Gore's directive to increase transparency and opportunities
for stakeholder consultation.
On the day of the technical briefing, in addition to making copies
available at the meeting site, the Agency will also release for public
viewing the methidathion and oxydemethon-methyl revised risk
assessments and related documents to the Public Information and Records
Integrity Branch and the OPP Internet web site that are described in
Unit I.B.1. In addition, the Agency will issue a Federal Register
notice to provide an opportunity for a 60-day public participation
period during which the public may submit risk management and
mitigation ideas, and recommendations and proposals for transition.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Chemicals, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: November 9, 1999.
Jack E. Housenger,
Acting Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 99-29900 Filed 11-17-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F
