
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41248-41250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17615]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2003-0200; FRL-8879-5]


Fenamiphos; Notice of Receipt of Request to Amend Use Deletion 
and Product Cancellation Order

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces EPA's notice of receipt of a request to 
amend the order for the cancellation of products, voluntarily requested 
by the registrant and accepted by the Agency, containing the pesticide 
fenamiphos, pursuant to section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended. This request 
follows a December 10, 2008 Federal Register Amendment to Use Deletion 
and Product Cancellation Order, which extended the deadline for persons 
other than the registrant to sell and distribute one fenamiphos 
product, Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable Systemic Insecticide-Nematicide, from 
November 30, 2008 until March 31, 2009. The Agency subsequently 
received a request from an end user to extend the sale and distribution 
deadline for Nemacur 3. If this request is granted, the Agency will 
extend the deadline for persons other than the registrant to sell and 
distribute Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable Systemic Insecticide-Nematicide (EPA 
Reg. No. 264-731) for 1 year from the date of publication of the 
amended order. Additionally, the Agency intends to prohibit use of 
existing stocks of all fenamiphos products 3 years from the date of 
publication of the amended order.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 12, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2003-0200, 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.
    Submit written withdrawal request by mail to: Pesticide Re-
evaluation Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001. ATTN: Eric Miederhoff.
     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 (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2003-0200. 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 Web site 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

[[Page 41249]]

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 (703) 305-5805.

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: (703) 347-8028; fax 
number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: miederhoff.eric@epa.gov.

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; fenamiphos 
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.

C. 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-2003-0200. 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 (703) 305-5805.
    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 proposed amendment of the December 10, 
2003 use deletion and product cancellation order of fenamiphos products 
registered under section 3 of FIFRA, as amended on June 11, 2008 and 
December 10, 2008. The only registration that would be affected by the 
extension of the sale and distribution date is Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable 
Systemic Insecticide-Nematicide, EPA Registration Number 264-731. The 
prohibition on the use of fenamiphos products 3 years after publication 
of the amended order would affect all fenamiphos product registrations.
    On December 10, 2003, EPA published a Use Deletion and Product 
Cancellation Order in the Federal Register (68 FR 68901) (FRL-7332-5). 
The order prohibited, among other things, the manufacture and 
distribution of fenamiphos by Bayer Corporation, the sole technical 
registrant, after May 31, 2007, the effective cancellation date for the 
fenamiphos product registrations. The deadline established for Bayer 
Corporation followed a production cap on the manufacture of fenamiphos, 
which limited fenamiphos production to 500,000 pounds of active 
ingredient for the year ending May 31, 2003, and reduced production by 
20% each subsequent year during the 5 year phase-out period. The order 
also prohibited the sale and distribution of fenamiphos by persons 
other than the registrant after May 31, 2008. These provisions were 
intended to provide a reasonable amount of time for the material to 
move through the channels of trade following the cessation of sale and 
distribution of fenamiphos products by the registrant on May 31, 2007.
    In a June 11, 2008 Federal Register Amendment to Use Deletion and 
Product Cancellation Order (73 FR 33082) (FRL-8368-2), the Agency 
extended the May 31, 2008 deadline on the sale and distribution by 
persons other than the registrant through November 30, 2008. This 
action was taken in response to a request from the sole fenamiphos 
technical registrant, Bayer Environmental Science, to extend the 
deadline to allow distributors to sell existing stockpiles of Nemacur 
10% Turf and Ornamental Nematicide (EPA Reg. No. 432-1291) and Nemacur 
3 Emulsifiable Systemic Insecticide-

[[Page 41250]]

Nematicide (EPA Reg. No. 264-731) to end users.
    In a December 10, 2008 Federal Register (73 FR 75097) (FRL-8389-8) 
Amendment to Use Deletion and Product Cancellation Order, the Agency 
further extended the November 30, 2008 deadline for the sale and 
distribution of Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable Systemic Insceticide-Nematicide 
(EPA Reg. No. 264-731) through March 31, 2009. This action was taken in 
response to a request from an end user, Maui Pineapple, to extend the 
deadline for sale and distribution of Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable Systemic 
Insecticide-Nematicide (EPA Reg. No. 264-731) from November 30, 2008 to 
March 31, 2009.
    On August 20, 2010 the Agency received another request from Maui 
Pineapple to extend the deadline for sale and distribution of Nemacur 3 
Emulsifiable Systemic Insecticide-Nematicide (EPA Reg. No. 264-731) to 
allow a transfer of its remaining stocks of Nemacur 3 to other end 
users.
    The original May 31, 2008 deadline for fenamiphos was established 
to provide a reasonable amount of time for the material to move through 
the channels of trade following the cessation of sale and distribution 
of fenamiphos products by the registrant, Bayer Environmental Science, 
on May 31, 2007. Extending the deadline for distributors to sell and 
distribute Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable Systemic Insecticide-Nematicide would 
neither conflict with the Agency's application of the guidelines 
outlined in PR Notice 97-7, nor would it introduce more fenamiphos into 
the pesticide use cycle than had been stipulated by the terms of the 5 
year phase-out. The extension would allow for a redistribution of 
existing material already in the hands of end users and no new 
fenamiphos products would enter the marketplace. If this request is 
granted, the Agency will extend the deadline for persons other than the 
registrant to sell and distribute Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable Systemic 
Insecticide-Nematicide (EPA Reg. No. 264-731) for 1 year from the date 
of publication of the amended order.
    However, the Agency also intends to prohibit use of all fenamiphos 
products in the United States 3 years from the date of publication of 
the amended order in the Federal Register. Previously, the Agency had 
allowed end users with existing stocks of products containing 
fenamiphos to continue to use these products until their stocks were 
exhausted, provided that the use complied with previously EPA-approved 
product label requirements for the respective products. Considering the 
initial Product Cancellation Order for fenamiphos was issued in 2003, 
if the Agency permits a further extension, 11 years will have elapsed 
since the initial cancellation order was issued, and approximately 7 
years will have elapsed from the effective cancellation of the 
fenamiphos products. When the Agency specified in the initial Product 
Cancellation Order that users may use existing stocks until exhausted, 
it did not anticipate that fenamiphos products would not move through 
the channels of trade and be depleted by end users in a timely manner.
    Moreover, all pesticides sold or distributed in the United States 
generally must be registered by the EPA, based on scientific data 
showing that they will not cause unreasonable risks to human health or 
the environment when used as directed on product labeling. Due to the 
fact that fenamiphos product registrations were canceled as part of the 
voluntary phase-out, the Agency has determined that the registration 
review program, the periodic evaluation of pesticide safety, is not 
applicable to fenamiphos. The registration review of fenamiphos would 
have begun in 2008 if fenamiphos had active product registrations at 
that time. The Agency is concerned that the use of existing stocks of 
fenamiphos products has continued for an extended period since the last 
scientific risks assessments of its use, which were completed for the 
2002 Fenamiphos Reregistration Eligibility Decision. Therefore, the 
Agency intends to prohibit all use of pesticide products containing 
fenamiphos 3 years from the date of publication of the amended order in 
the Federal Register.

III. What is the agency's authority for taking this action?

    Section 6(a)(1) of FIFRA provides that the Administrator may permit 
the continued sale and use of existing stocks of a pesticide whose 
registration is suspended or canceled under this section, or section 3 
or 4, to such extent, under such conditions, and for such uses as the 
Administrator determines that such sale or use is not inconsistent with 
the purposes of this Act.

IV. Proposed Order Amendment

    Pursuant to FIFRA section 6(a), EPA is proposing to amend the 
December 10, 2008 order to allow persons other than the registrant to 
sell and distribute the fenamiphos product, Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable 
Systemic Insecticide-Nematicide (EPA Registration Number 264-731), for 
1 year from the publication of the amended order. Accordingly, the 
Agency is proposing to order that the sale and distribution of products 
containing fenamiphos is prohibited, except for proper disposal or 
export pursuant to section 17 of FIFRA, provided, however, that persons 
other than the registrant are permitted to sell and distribute existing 
stocks of Nemacur 3 Emulsifiable Systemic Insecticide-Nematicide (EPA 
Registration Number 264-731) for 1 year from the publication of the 
amended order. The Agency further proposes to order that end users with 
existing stocks of any products containing fenamiphos may continue to 
use these products for 3 years from the date of publication of the 
amended order in the Federal Register, provided that the use complies 
with EPA-approved product label requirements for the respective 
products.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: July 1, 2011.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-17615 Filed 7-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


