2010-2966. Malathion, Diquat Dibromide, Metam-potassium and Metam-sodium; Notice of Receipt of Requests to Amend Pesticide Registrations to Delete Uses in Certain Pesticide Registrations

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests by the registrants to voluntarily amend their registrations to delete uses in certain pesticide registrations containing the pesticides malathion, diquat dibromide, metam-potassium, and metam-sodium. The requests would terminate malathion use in or on animal premises and barns used for dairy and livestock. The requests would terminate diquat dibromide use in or on sorghum and soybean (seed crop only). The requests would terminate metam-sodium and metam-potassium soil fumigant uses (agricultural application) for certain products. The requests would not terminate the last malathion, diquat dibromide, metam-potassium, and metam-sodium products registered for use in the United States. EPA intends to grant these requests at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its further review of the requests, or unless the registrants withdraw their requests within this period. Upon acceptance of these requests, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.

DATES:

For malathion products (EPA Registration Nos. 4787-46 and 67760-40) and diquat dibromide products (EPA Registration No. 100-1061) comments must be received on or before March 12, 2010. For metam-sodium and metam-potassium products (EPA Registration Nos. 1448-74, 1448-83, 1448-85, 1448-107, 1448-361, and 1448-362) comments must be received on or before August 9, 2010.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0979, 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-2009-0979. 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:

Eric Miederhoff, Pesticide Re-evaluation 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 on the Receipt of Requests to Amend Registrations to Delete Uses

This notice announces receipt by EPA of requests from several registrants requesting that EPA amend product registrations as follows:

1. In a letter dated December 17, 2009, Cheminova, A/S, and Cheminova, Inc., requested that EPA amend its malathion product registrations to delete certain uses which are identified in Table 1 of Unit III. Malathion is a broad-spectrum organophosphate insecticide.

2. In a letter dated November 10, 2009, Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., requested that EPA amend its diquate dibromide pesticide product registrations to delete certain uses which are identified in Table 1 of Unit III. Diquat dibromide is a non-selective contact algicide, defoliant, desiccant and herbicide.

3. In a letter dated October 30, 2009, Buckman Laboratories requested that EPA amend its metam-sodium and metam-potassium pesticide product registrations to delete certain uses which are identified in Table 1 of Unit III. Metam-sodium and metam-potassium are broad-spectrum fumigants with fungicidal, bactericidal, algicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, nematicidal, and antimicrobial properties.

III. What Action is the Agency Taking?

This notice announces receipt by EPA of requests from registrants to delete uses of malathion, diquat dibromide, metam-potassium, and metam-sodium product registrations. The affected products and the registrants making the requests are identified in Tables 1 and 2 of this unit.

Under section 6(f)(1)(A) of FIFRA, registrants may request, at any time, that their pesticide registrations be canceled or amended to terminate one or more pesticide uses. Section 6(f)(1)(B) of FIFRA requires that before acting on a request for voluntary cancellation, EPA must provide a 30-day public comment period on the request for voluntary cancellation or use termination. In addition, section 6(f)(1)(C) of FIFRA requires that EPA provide a 180-day comment period on a request for voluntary cancellation or termination of any minor agricultural use before granting the request, unless:

1. The registrants request a waiver of the comment period, or

2. The Administrator determines that continued use of the pesticide would pose an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.

The malathion and diquat dibromide registrants have requested that EPA waive the 180-day comment period. EPA will provide a 30-day comment period on the proposed requests.

Unless a request is withdrawn by the registrant within 30 days of publication of this notice, or if the Agency determines that there are substantive comments that warrant further review of this request, an order will be issued amending the affected registrations.

The metam-potassium and metam-sodium registrant has not requested that EPA waive the 180-day comment period. EPA will provide a 180-day comment period on the proposed requests.

Unless a request is withdrawn by the registrant within 180 days of publication of this notice, or if the Agency determines that there are substantive comments that warrant further review of this request, an order will be issued amending the affected registrations.

Table 1 lists the products with pending requests for amendment of the pesticide registrations.

Table 1. — Product Registrations with Pending Requests for Amendment

EPA Registration No.	Product Name	Active Ingredient	Delete from Label
100-1061	Reglone Desiccant Herbicide	Diquat dibromide	Sorghum (seed crop only) Soybean (seed crop only)
1448-74	PNMDC	Metam-potassium	Soil fumigant uses (agricultural application)
1448-83	SNMDC	Metam-sodium	Soil fumigant uses (agricultural application)
1448-85	Busan 1020	Metam-sodium	Soil fumigant uses (agricultural application)
1448-107	Metam Concentrate	Metam-sodium	Soil fumigant uses (agricultural application)
1448-361	Busan 1236	Metam-sodium	Soil fumigant uses (agricultural application)
1448-362	Busan 1180	Metam-potassium	Soil fumigant uses (agricultural application)
4787-46	Atrapa® 8E	Malathion	Animal premise and barns used for dairy and livestock
67760-40	Fyfanon® 57% EC	Malathion	Animal premise and barns used for dairy and livestock

Table 2 includes the names and addresses of record for the registrants of the products listed in Table 1 of this unit.

Table 2. — Registrants Requesting Amendments to Delete Uses in Certain Pesticide Registrations

EPA Company Number	Company Name and Address
100	Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., P.O. Box 18300, Greensboro, NC 27419-8300
1448	Buckman Laboratories, 1236 N. McLean Blvd., Memphis, TN 38108-1241
4787	Cheminova, A/S, P.O. Box 110566, One Park Drive, Suite 150, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
67760	Cheminova, Inc., Washington Office, 1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22209

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

Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA provides that a registrant of a pesticide product may at any time request that any of its pesticide registrations be canceled or amended to terminate one or more uses. FIFRA further provides that, before acting on the request, EPA must publish a notice of receipt of any such request in the Federal Register. Thereafter, following the public comment period, the Administrator may approve such a request.

V. Procedures for Withdrawal of Request

For malathion products (EPA Registration Nos. 4787-46 and 67760-40) and diquat dibromide products (EPA Registration No. 100-1061) registrants who choose to withdraw a request for use deletion must submit the withdrawal in writing to Eric Miederhoff using the methods in ADDRESSES. The Agency will consider written withdrawal requests postmarked no later than March 12, 2010.

For metam-sodium and metam-potassium products (EPA Registration Nos. 1448-74, 1448-83, 1448-85, 1448-107, 1448-361, and 1448-362) registrants who choose to withdraw a request for use deletion must submit the withdrawal in writing to Eric Miederhoff using the methods in ADDRESSES. The Agency will consider written withdrawal requests postmarked no later than August 9, 2010.

This written withdrawal of the request for use deletion will apply only to the applicable FIFRA section 6(f)(1) request listed in this notice. If the products have been subject to a previous cancellation action, the effective date of the use deletion amendment and all other provisions of any earlier cancellation action are controlling.

VI. Provisions for Disposition of Existing Stocks

Existing stocks are those stocks of registered pesticide products which are currently in the United States and which were packaged, labeled, and released for shipment prior to the effective date of the cancellation action.

In any order issued in response to these requests for amendments to delete uses, the Agency proposes to include the following provisions for the treatment of any existing stocks of the products identified or referenced in Table 1 in Unit III. The Agency proposes to authorize registrants to sell or distribute products under the previously approved labeling for a period of 12 months after approval of the revision, unless other restrictions have been imposed.

If the requests for voluntary use deletions are granted as discussed in this unit, the Agency intends to issue a cancellation order that will allow persons other than the registrant to continue to sell and/or use existing stocks of products whose labels include the deleted uses until such stocks are exhausted, provided that such use is consistent with the terms of the previously approved labeling on, or that accompanied, the product whose label includes the deleted uses. The order will specifically prohibit any use of existing stocks that is not consistent with such previously approved labeling. The Agency will publish the cancellation order in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects

• Environmental protection
• Pesticides and pests

Dated: February 3, 2010.

Peter Caulkins,

Acting Director, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.