E9-6260. Fomesafen; Product Cancellation Order

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces EPA's order for the cancellation, voluntarily requested by the registrant and accepted by the Agency, of products containing the pesticide fomesafen, pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended. This cancellation order follows a December 31, 2008 Federal Register Notice of Receipt of Request from the fomesafen registrant to voluntarily cancel all their fomesafen product registrations. Fomesafen is a pre-plant, pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicide used on soybeans, snap beans, dry beans, and cotton. It is also registered for use on agricultural fallow/idleland, nonagricultural uncultivated areas/soils, pine (forest/shelterbelt) and pine (seed orchard). These are not the last fomesafen products registered for use in the United States. In the December 31, 2008 Notice, EPA indicated that it would issue an order implementing the cancellations, unless the Agency received substantive comments within the 30-day comment period that would merit its further review of these requests, or unless the registrant withdrew their request within this period. The Agency did not receive any comments on the notice. Further, the registrant did not withdraw their request. Accordingly, EPA hereby issues in this notice a cancellation order granting the requested cancellations. Any distribution, sale, or use of the fomesafen products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions.

DATES:

The cancellations are effective March 25, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Wilhelmena Livingston, 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. How Can I Get Copies of this Document and Other Related Information?

1. Docket. EPA has established a docket for this action under docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0893. 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 Office of Pesticide Programs (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].

2. Electronic access. You may access this Federal Register document electronically through the EPA Internet under the “Federal Register” listings at http://www.epa.gov/​fedrgstr.

II. What Action is the Agency Taking?

This notice announces the cancellation, as requested by the registrant, of products registered under section 3 of FIFRA. These registrations are listed in sequence by registration number in Table 1 of this unit.

Table 1.—Fomesafen Product Cancellations

EPA Registration Number	Product Name
7969-82	BAS 530 04 H Herbicide
7969-83	FASTERTM Herbicide

Table 2 of this unit includes the name and address of record for the registrant of the products in Table 1 of this unit, in sequence by EPA company number.

Table 2.—Registrant of Canceled And/or Amended Fomesafen Products

EPA Company Number	Company Name and Address
7969	BASF, 26 Davis Drive, Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-3528

III. Summary of Public Comments Received and Agency Response to Comments

During the public comment period provided, EPA received no comments in response to the December 31, 2008 Federal Register (73 FR 80390; FRL-8395-3) notice announcing the Agency's receipt of the request for voluntary cancellations of fomesafen.

IV. Cancellation Order

Pursuant to FIFRA section 6(f), EPA hereby approves the requested cancellation of fomesafen registrations identified in Table 1 of Unit II. Accordingly, the Agency orders that the fomesafen product registrations identified in Table 1 of Unit II are hereby canceled. Any distribution, sale, or use of existing stocks of the products identified in Table 1 of Unit II in a manner inconsistent with any of the Provisions for Disposition of Existing Stocks set forth in Unit VI. will be considered a violation of FIFRA.

V. 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.

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. The cancellation order issued in this notice includes the following existing stocks provisions.

Registrants may sell and distribute existing stocks for 1-year from the date of the cancellation request. The products may be sold, distributed, and used by people other than the registrant until existing stocks have been exhausted, provided that such sale, distribution, and use complies with the EPA-approved label and labeling of the product.

List of Subjects

• Environmental protection
• Pesticides and pests

Dated: February 25, 2009.

Peter Caulkins,

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