Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Notice.
There will be a meeting of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to consider and review corn rootworm plant-incorporated protectant insect resistance management and non-target insect issues.
The meeting will be held on August 27–29, 2002, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m, eastern standard time.
For dates on requests to present oral comments, submission of written comments, or requests for special seating arrangements, see Unit I.C. of the
For requests for nominations to serve as Ad-Hoc members of the FIFRA SAP for this meeting, see Unit II.C. of the
The meeting will be held at Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, 1800 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. The telephone number for the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel is (703) 486–1111.
Requests to present oral comments, submission of written comments, or requests for special seating arrangements may be submitted by mail, electronically, or in person. Please follow the detailed instructions for each method as provided in Unit I. of the
Send nominations to serve Ad-Hoc members of the FIFRA SAP for this meeting to the Designated Federal Official (DFO) listed under
Paul Lewis, DFO, Office of Science Coordination and Policy (7202M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564–8450; fax number: (202) 564–8382; e-mail addresses: lewis.paul@epa.gov.
This action is directed to the public in general. This action may, however, be of interest to persons who are, or may be required to conduct testing of chemical substances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), FIFRA, and FQPA. 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. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the DFO listed under
1.
A meeting agenda relevant to this meeting is now available. EPA's position paper, questions to FIFRA SAP, and FIFRA SAP composition (i.e., members and consultants) will be available as soon as possible, but no later than early August. In addition, the Agency may provide additional background documents as the materials become available. You may obtain electronic copies of these documents, and certain other related documents that might be available electronically, from the FIFRA SAP Internet Home Page at: http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap.
2.
The public version of the official record, which includes printed, paper versions of any electronic comments that may be submitted during an applicable comment period, is available for inspection in the Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB telephone number is (703) 305–5805.
You may submit requests to present oral comments, written comments, or requests for special seating arrangements through the mail, in person, or electronically. Do not submit any information in your request that is considered CBI. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket ID number OPP–2002–0157 in the subject line on the first page of your request.
1.
Although requests to present oral comments are accepted until the date of the meeting (unless otherwise stated), to the extent that time permits, interested persons may be permitted by the Chair of FIFRA SAP to present oral comments at the meeting. Each individual or group wishing to make brief oral comments to FIFRA SAP is strongly advised to submit their request to the DFO listed under
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Amendments to FIFRA enacted November 28, 1975 (7 U.S.C. 136w(d)), include a requirement under section 25(d) that notices of intent to cancel or reclassify pesticide regulations pursuant to section 6(b)(2), as well as proposed and final forms of rulemaking pursuant to section 25(a), be submitted to a Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) prior to being made public or issued to a registrant. In accordance with FIFRA section 25(d), the SAP is to have an opportunity to comment on the health and environmental impact of such actions. The Panel also shall make comments, evaluations, and recommendations for operating
Section 104 of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) (Public Law 104–170 established the FQPA Science Review Board (SRB). These scientists shall be available to the SAP on an ad hoc basis to assist in reviews conducted by the Panel.
The FIFRA SAP will meet to consider and review corn rootworm plant-incorporated protectant insect resistance management and non-target insect issues. Monsanto Company has requested a registration for the plant-incorporated protectant
Monsanto has conducted experiments using Cry3Bb1 corn for the last 3 years (2000–2002) under Experimental Use Permits. This has allowed for data to be developed to support the company's application for a commercial registration under FIFRA. EPA has conducted a risk assessment based on the data submitted. The Agency is seeking the FIFRA SAP's review on their assessment of the non-target arthropod studies and the Bt degradation in soil studies.
In addition, Monsanto has submitted an insect resistance management plan (IRM) intended to be used for a 3-year interim period while further scientific studies are conducted to refine the plan based on actual commercial field experience. EPA has cooperated with researchers working with corn rootworm in its evaluation of the Monsanto proposed IRM plan. The Agency will also be seeking the advice of the FIFRA SAP regarding their assessment of the IRM plan. The guidance provided by the FIFRA SAP along with comments provided by the public will be considered by the Agency in making its decision on the application for registration for products containing Cry3Bb1.
The FIFRA SAP staff routinely solicit the stakeholder community for nominations to serve as ad-hoc members of the FIFRA SAP for each meeting. Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to serve on the FIFRA SAP for a specific meeting. No interested person shall be ineligible to serve by reason of their membership on any other advisory committee to a Federal department or agency or their employment by a Federal department or agency (except the EPA). Individuals nominated should have expertise in one or more of the following areas: Insect biology, insect resistance management, and non-target effects. Nominees should be scientists who have sufficient professional qualifications, including training and experience, to be capable of providing expert comments on the issues for this meeting. Nominees should be identified by name, occupation, position, address, and telephone number. Nominations should be provided to the DFO listed under
The criteria for selecting scientists to serve on the Panel are that these persons be recognized scientists--experts in their fields; that they be as impartial and objective as possible; that they represent an array of backgrounds and perspectives (within their disciplines); have no financial conflict of interest; have not previously been involved with the scientific peer review of the issue(s) presented; and that they be available to participate fully in the review, which will be conducted over a relatively short time frame. Nominees will be asked to attend the public meetings and to participate in the discussion of key issues and assumptions at these meetings. Finally, they will be asked to review and to help finalize the meeting minutes.
If a Panel nominee is considered to assist in a review by the SAP for a particular session, the nominee is subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part 2634, Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, as supplemented by the EPA in 5 CFR part 6401. As such, the Panel nominee is required to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report which shall fully disclose, among other financial interests, the nominee's employment, stocks, and bonds, and where applicable, sources of research support. The EPA will evaluate the nominee's financial disclosure form to assess that there are no formal conflicts of interest before the nominee is considered to serve on the Panel. Selected Panel members will be hired as a Special Government Employee. The Agency will review all nominations; a decision on Panel members for the meeting will be posted on the FIFRA SAP web site or may be obtained by contacting the Public Information and Records Integrity Branch at the address or telephone number listed in Unit I. of the
The FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting minutes summarizing its recommendations to the Agency in approximately 60 days. The minutes will be posted on the FIFRA SAP web site or may be obtained by contacting the Public Information and Records Integrity Branch at the address or telephone number listed in Unit I. of the
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.