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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 a request by the registrant to voluntarily cancel its registration for a product containing the pesticide nicotine. The request would terminate nicotine use on greenhouse-grown ornamentals. The request would terminate the last nicotine product registered for use in the United States. EPA intends to grant this request 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 request, or unless the registrant withdraws its request within this period. Upon acceptance of this request, 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:

Comments must be received on or before April 27, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1019, 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 (703) 305-5805.

Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-1019. 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 (703) 305-5805.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jill Bloom, Special Review and Reregistration Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8019; fax number: (703) 308-7070; e-mail address: bloom.jill@epa.gov.

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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 Start Printed Page 64321Agency 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 Cancel and/or Amend Registrations to Delete Uses

This notice announces receipt by EPA of a request from the registrant, Fuller System, Inc., (Fuller) to cancel one of its product registrations. The affected nicotine product is labeled for use on greenhouse-grown ornamentals such as poinsettia, chrysanthemum, and bedding plants for the control of aphids, thrips, and whiteflies. In a letter dated February 25, 2008, Fuller requested that EPA cancel the affected product registration identified in this notice (see Table 1). Specifically, the Agency became aware during its assessment of the reregistration eligibility of nicotine that the pesticide-specific database for nicotine was insufficient, even when taking into account information available in the open literature. Had the registration been allowed to continue, this lack of data would have necessitated that the Agency issue a Data Call-In notice for specific nicotine data elements, particularly toxicity data. Fuller decided to request product phase-out rather than develop these data. Fuller requested that:

1. It be permitted to produce and sell its nicotine product until December 31, 2013.

2. Distributors be permitted to sell the product until December 31, 2014.

3. Users be permitted to use the product until stocks are depleted

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In addition, Fuller has agreed to implement several risk-reduction measures in the interim before cancellation becomes effective. The measures will take the form of revised labeling that:

1. Prohibits the use of the nicotine product in non-commercial greenhouses.

2. Prohibits the use of the nicotine product on plants grown for cut flowers.

3. Prohibits worker reentry into a treated greenhouse for at least 24 hours after application and until Worker Protection Standards (WPS) ventilation criteria have been met, except for appropriately trained and equipped workers.

4. Prohibits the sale or transfer of treated plants for 24 hours following application. These measures address potential risks of concern identified by the Agency in the nicotine Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED).

Fuller's nicotine product is used only on greenhouse-grown ornamentals; this action would terminate the last nicotine pesticide product registered in the United States for any use

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III. What Action is the Agency Taking?

This notice announces receipt by EPA of a request from a registrant to cancel a nicotine product registration. The affected product and the registrant making the request are identified in Tables 1 and 2 of this unit

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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 nicotine registrant has not requested that EPA waive the 180-day comment period. EPA will provide a 180-day comment period on the request for cancellation.

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 canceling the affected registration.

Table 2 of this unit shows the name and address of record for the registrant of the product listed in Table 1 of this unit.

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 Start Printed Page 64322acting 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 and Considerations for Reregistration of Fulex Nicotine Fumigator

Registrants who choose to withdraw a request for cancellation must submit such withdrawal in writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, postmarked before April 27, 2009. This written withdrawal of the request for cancellation will apply only to the applicable FIFRA section 6(f)(1) request listed in this notice. If the product registration has been subject to a previous cancellation action, the effective date of cancellation 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 this request for cancellation of a product registration, EPA 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. Fuller will be permitted to produce and sell its nicotine product (Fulex Nicotine Fumigator, EPA Registration Number 1327-41) until December 31, 2013.Distributors will be permitted to sell this product until December 31, 2014. The use of this product will be permitted until existing stocks are depleted.

If the request for voluntary cancellation is granted, the Agency intends to publish the cancellation order in the Federal Register.

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List of Subjects

• Environmental protection
• Pesticides and pests

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