03-8640. Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs will hold a public meeting of the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) on April 16 and 17, 2003. An agenda has been developed and is posted on EPA's website. The following topics are planned for discussion: Improving mosquito control labeling; pesticide registration review; inert ingredients risk assessment framework implementation; and follow-up regarding alternative non-animal or reduced animal testing. Additional topics planned for presentation or as updates include the following: Endangered species, Section 18 reforms, human testing, methyl bromide, etc.

DATES:

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 16, 2003, from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., and Thursday, April 17, 2003, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

ADDRESSES:

The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Crystal City, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA; telephone number: [phone]. The Sheraton Crystal City is one block from the Crystal City Metro Station.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Margie Fehrenbach, Office of Pesticide Programs (7501C), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; 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; however, persons may be interested who work in agricultural settings or persons who are concerned about implementation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA); and the amendments to both of these major pesticide laws by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) (Public Law 104-170) of 1996. Since other entities may also be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be affected by this action. Potentially affected entities may include but are not limited to: Agricultural workers and farmers; pesticide industry and trade associations; environmental, consumer and farmworker groups; pesticide users and growers; pest consultants; State, local and tribal governments; academia; public health organizations; food processors; and the public. 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 an official public docket for this action under docket identification (ID) number OPP-2003-0137. The official public docket consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, any public comments received, and other information related to this action. Although a part of the official docket, the public docket does not include Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. The official public docket is the collection of materials that is available for public viewing at the Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. This docket facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The docket 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. An agenda has been developed and is posted at http://www.epa.gov/​pesticides/​ppdc.

An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/​edocket to view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available docket materials through the docket facility identified in Unit I.B.1. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the appropriate docket ID number.

II. Background

The PPDC is composed of 42 members appointed by EPA's Deputy Administrator. Committee members were selected from a balanced group of participants from the following sectors: Pesticide user, grower and commodity groups; industry and trade associations; environmental/public interest and farmworker groups; Federal, State and tribal governments; public health organizations; animal welfare; and academia. PPDC was established to provide a public forum to discuss a wide variety of pesticide regulatory development and reform initiatives, evolving public policy, program implementation issues, and science policy issues associated with evaluating and reducing risks from use of pesticides.

III. How Can I Request to Participate in this Meeting?

This meeting will be open to the public. Opportunity will be provided for questions and comments by the public. Any person who wishes to file a written statement may do so before or after the meeting. These statements will become part of the permanent record and will be available for public inspection at the address listed under Unit I.B.1

List of Subjects

• Environmental protection
• Agriculture
• Agricultural workers
• Chemicals
• Foods
• Pesticides
• Pests
• Inert Ingredients
• Risk assessment

Dated: April 3, 2003.

James Jones,

Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.