[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15940-15941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-8947]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-181006; FRL-5360-4]
Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption to use Pirate;
Solicitation of Public Comment
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: EPA has received specific exemption requests from the Alabama
Department of Agriculture Industries, Arkansas State Plant Board, and
the Mississippi Department of Agriculture Commerce (hereafter referred
to as the ``Applicants'') to use the pesticide Pirate to treat up to
3,300,000 acres of cotton to control the beet armyworm (BAW) and the
tobacco budworm (TBW).
The Applicants propose the use of a new (unregistered) chemical [40
CFR 166.24(a)(1)]. Therefore, in accordance with 40 CFR 166.24, EPA is
soliciting
[[Page 15941]]
public comment before making the decision whether or not to grant the
exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 25, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Three copies of written comments, bearing the identification
notation ``OPP-181006'', should be submitted by mail to: Public
Response and Program Resource Branch, Field Operations Division
(7506C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency,
401 M St. SW, Washington, DC 20460. In person, bring comments to: Rm.
1132, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
Comments and data may also be submitted electronically by sending
electronic mail (e-mail) to: opp-docket@epamail.epa.gov. Electronic
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special
characters and any form of encryption. Comments and data will also be
accepted on disks in WordPerfect in 5.1 file format or ASCII file
format. All comments and data in electronic form must be identified by
the docket number [OPP-181006]. No Confidential Business Information
(CBI) should be submitted through e-mail. Electronic comments on this
notice may be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.
Additional information on electronic submissions can be found below in
this document.
Information submitted in any comment concerning this notice may be
claimed confidential by marking any part or all of that information as
(CBI). Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance
with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. A copy of the comment that
does not contain CBI must be provided by the submitter for inclusion in
the public record. Information not marked confidential may be disclosed
publicly by EPA without prior notice. All written comments filed
pursuant to this notice will be available for public inspection in Rm.
1132, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA,
from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Margarita Collantes,
Registration Division (7505W), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St. SW, Washington, DC 20460.
Office location and telephone number: Floor 6, Crystal Station #1, 2800
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA, (703) 308-8347; email:
collantes.margarita@epamail.epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 18 of the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p),
the Administrator may, at her discretion, exempt a state agency from
any registration provision of FIFRA if she determines that emergency
conditions exist which require such exemption. The Applicants have
requested the Administrator to issue specific exemptions for the use of
Pirate on cotton to control the beet armyworm and the tobacco budworm.
Information in accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was submitted as part of
these requests. According to the Applicants, the rationale for
requesting this emergency exemption is based on pheromone trap catches
from the previous winter and spring months indicating that the BAW may
be overwintering in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi and if
environmental conditions are favorable early in the growing season, a
large outbreak of BAW could occur. In addition the inability of the
currently available insecticides to control the BAW and increased
development of pyrethroid resistance in the TBW has resulted in yield
losses and high control costs.
The use of Pirate to control the BAW and TBW was issued to most of
the states within the southern cotton belt region last year. In an
effort to mitigate risk to Federally-listed threatened and endangered
species from potentially harmful exposure to Pirate, specific
directions, restrictions, precautions and monitoring for wildlife
mortality were required.
Under the proposed exemption, Pirate 3SC may be applied at a
maximum rate of 0.2 pounds per acre (8.53 fl. ozs.) for control of the
BAW and at a maximum rate of 0.35 lbs. a.i. (14.9 fl. ozs.) per acre
for control of the TBW, using ground or aerial application equipment in
a minimum of 10 gallons per acre total volume by ground, or 5 gallons
of spray solution per acre by air. This notice does not constitute a
decision by EPA on the application itself. The regulations governing
section 18 require publication of a notice of receipt of an application
for a specific exemption proposing use of a new chemical (i.e. an
active ingredient not contained in any currently registered pesticide),
- [40 CFR 166.24(a)(1)]. Pirate 3SC is an unregistered chemical. Such
notice provides for oppurtunity for public comment on the application.
A record has been established for this notice under docket number
[OPP-181006] (including comments and data submitted electronically as
described below). A public version of this record, including printed,
paper versions of electronic comments, which does not include any
information claimed as CBI is available for inspection from 8 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The public
record is located in Rm. 1132 of the Public Response and Program
Resource Branch, Field Operations Division (7506C), Office of Pesticide
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, Crystal Mall #2, 1921
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
opp-docket@epamail.epa.gov
Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the
use of special characters and any form of encryption.
The official record for this notice, as well as the public version,
as described above will be kept in paper form. Accordingly, EPA will
transfer all comments received electronically into printed, paper form
as they are received and will place the paper copies in the offical
record is the paper record maintained at the address in ``ADDRESSES''
at the beginning of this document. Accordingly, interested persons may
submit written views on this subject to the Field Operations Division
at the address above.
The Agency, accordingly, will review and consider all comments
received during the comment period in determining whether to issue the
emergency exemptions requested by the Alabama Department of
Agricultural Industries, Arkansas State Plant Board, and the
Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticide and pests, Emergency
exemptions.
Dated: March 29, 1996.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 96-8947 Filed 4-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F
