81 FR 236 - Notice of Receipt of Requests To Voluntarily Cancel Pesticide Registrations and Amend Registrations To Terminate Certain Uses

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 2 (January 5, 2016)

In accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests by the registrants to voluntarily cancel their registrations of certain products containing the pesticides alachlor, atrazine, fludioxonil, glyphosate, POE isooctadecanol, pyrithiobac, quizalofop-p-ethyl, thiamethoxam, and thiophanate methyl, and to amend three dodine product registrations to terminate use on strawberries. The requests would not terminate the last atrazine, fludioxonil, glyphosate, POE isooctadecanol, pyrithiobac, quizalofop-p-ethyl, thiamethoxam, and thiophanate methyl products registered for use in the United States. One request, if granted, would terminate the last alachlor products registered for use in the United States. EPA intends to grant these requests 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 requests, or unless the registrants withdraw their requests. If these requests are granted, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted after the registrations have been cancelled and uses terminated only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 236-238]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-33179]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0741; FRL-9937-07]


Notice of Receipt of Requests To Voluntarily Cancel Pesticide 
Registrations and Amend Registrations To Terminate Certain Uses

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests 
by the registrants to voluntarily cancel their registrations of certain 
products containing the pesticides alachlor, atrazine, fludioxonil, 
glyphosate, POE isooctadecanol, pyrithiobac, quizalofop-p-ethyl, 
thiamethoxam, and thiophanate methyl, and to amend three dodine product 
registrations to terminate use on strawberries. The requests would not 
terminate the last atrazine, fludioxonil, glyphosate, POE 
isooctadecanol, pyrithiobac, quizalofop-p-ethyl, thiamethoxam, and 
thiophanate methyl products registered for use in the United States. 
One request, if granted, would terminate the last alachlor products 
registered for use in the United States. EPA intends to grant these 
requests 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 requests, or unless 
the registrants withdraw their requests. If these requests are granted, 
any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will 
be permitted after the registrations have been cancelled and uses 
terminated 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 February 4, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0741, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit 
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute.
     Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 
20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand 
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
    Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets generally, is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miguel Zavala, Pesticide Re-Evaluation 
Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 347-0504; email address: 
[email protected].

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 Agency 
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be 
affected by this action.

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 email. 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 preparing and submitting 
your comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

II. Background on the Receipt of Requests To Cancel and/or Amend 
Registrations To Delete Uses

    This notice announces receipt by EPA of requests from ADAMA 
Agricultural Solutions, Gowan Company, Syngenta Crop Protection, BASF 
Corporation, and Monsanto Company to cancel certain product 
registrations and from Agriphar S.A. to amend certain registrations to 
terminate uses on strawberry.
    Alachlor is an herbicide registered for on beans, corn, peanuts, 
sorghum, and soybeans. There are no non-agricultural use sites. 
Atrazine is an herbicide registered for use on corn, sorghum, and 
sugarcane. In a letter dated October 13, 2015, Monsanto requested that 
EPA cancel all alachlor product registrations identified in Table 1 of 
Unit III. Several of these alachlor products also contain atrazine. 
Such action would terminate the last alachlor pesticide products 
registered in the United States, but would not terminate the last 
atrazine

[[Page 237]]

pesticide products registered in the United States.
    Dodine is a fungicide registered for use on almonds, apples, 
bananas, cherries, nectarines, peaches, peanuts and pecans. There are 
no non-agricultural use sites. In a letter dated June 22, 2015, Ceres 
International LLC requested on behalf of Agriphar S.A. that EPA amend 
certain registrations identified in Table 2 of Unit III to delete the 
use of dodine on strawberry. This request would delete the strawberry 
use site from all dodine product labels registered for use in the 
United States, but would not terminate the last dodine pesticide 
products registered in the United States.
    Fludioxonil is a broad spectrum contact fungicide and antimicrobial 
that is used on a variety of crops, berries, fruit trees, grasses, 
herbs, ornamentals, and residential turf, as a preservative for mold 
remediation and other non-food uses. Thiamethoxam is a broad spectrum 
nitroguanidine insecticide that is registered for use on several 
agricultural and non-agricultural commodities. In a letter dated 
November 19, 2015, Syngenta requested that EPA cancel one pesticide 
product registration containing both fludioxonil and thiamethoxam 
identified in Table 1 of Unit III. This action will not terminate the 
last fludioxonil or thiamethoxam pesticide products registered in the 
United States.
    Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide registered for use on many 
food and non-food crops as well as in non-crop and residential areas. 
Quizalofop-p-ethyl is a systemic herbicide registered for use to 
control annual and perennial weeds in various food/feed and non-food/
feed crops. In a letter dated September 23, 2015, Monsanto Company 
requested that EPA cancel one pesticide product registration containing 
both glyphosate and quizalofop-p-ethyl identified in Table 1 of Unit 
III. This action will not terminate the last glyphosate or quizalofop-
p-ethyl pesticide products registered in the United States.
    POE isooctadecanol is registered for insect control including 
mosquitos as a larvicide and pupicide in flooded areas, swamps, sewage, 
irrigation and drainage systems, and other aquatic sites. In letters 
dated October 16, 2015, BASF Corporation requested that EPA cancel 
certain POE isooctadecanol product registrations identified in Table 1 
of Unit III. This action will not terminate the last POE isooctadecanol 
pesticide products registered in the United States.
    Pyrithiobac is a selective pre- and post-emergent herbicide used to 
control a variety of broadleaf weeds in cotton fields. In a letter 
dated October 1, 2015, ADAMA Agricultural Solutions requested that EPA 
cancel one pyrithiobac product registration identified in Table 1 of 
Unit III. This action will not terminate the last pyrithiobac pesticide 
products registered in the United States.
    Thiophanate methyl is a systemic benzimidazole fungicide registered 
for use on row, field and orchard crops, greenhouses, nurseries, and 
for commercial seed and bulb dip treatment. In a letter dated May 19, 
2015, Gowan Company requested that EPA cancel certain thiophanate 
methyl product registrations identified in Table 1 of Unit III. This 
action will not terminate the last thiophanate methyl pesticide 
products registered in the United States.

III. What action is the Agency taking?

    This notice announces receipt by EPA of requests from registrants 
to cancel certain product registrations of alachlor, atrazine, 
fludioxonil, glyphosate, POE isooctadecanol, pyrithiobac, quizalofop-p-
ethyl, thiamethoxam, and thiophanate methyl, and terminate uses on 
strawberries for certain dodine registrations. The affected products 
and the registrants making the requests are identified in Tables 1-3 of 
this unit.
    Unless a request is withdrawn by the registrant or if the Agency 
determines that there are substantive comments that warrant further 
review of this request, EPA intends to issue an order canceling the 
affected registrations and amending to terminate certain uses the 
affected registrations for which the Agency received use termination 
requests.

        Table 1--Alachlor, Atrazine, Fludioxonil, Glyphosate, POE
   Isooctadecanol, Pyrithiobac, Quizalofop-p-ethyl, Thiamethoxam, and
 Thiophanate Methyl Product Registrations With Requests for Cancellation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Registration No.             Product name      Active ingredient
------------------------------------------------------------------------
100-1249 \a\....................  Adage Maxim 4FS     Fludioxonil and
                                   Twin-Pak.           Thiamethoxam.
524-314.........................  Lasso Herbicide...  Alachlor.
524-316.........................  Lasso 94%           Alachlor.
                                   Stabilized
                                   Technical.
524-329.........................  Lariat Herbicide..  Alachlor and
                                                       Atrazine.
524-344.........................  Micro-Tech          Alachlor.
                                   Herbicide.
524-418.........................  Bullet Herbicide..  Alachlor and
                                                       Atrazine.
524-523 \a\.....................  MON 78746           Glyphosate-
                                   Herbicide.          isopropylammonium
                                                       and Quizalofop-p-
                                                       ethyl.
7969-333........................  Agnique MMF         POE
                                   Mosquito            Isooctadecanol.
                                   Larvicide &
                                   Pupicide.
7969-334........................  Agnique MMF-GR      POE
                                   Mosquito,           Isooctadecanol.
                                   Larvicide, &
                                   Pupicide.
7969-340........................  Cando Poly          POE
                                   Mosquito Film.      Isooctadecanol.
10163-291 \a\...................  Thiophanate Methyl  Thiophanate
                                   Technical 98.4.     Methyl.
10163-292 \a\...................  Thiophanate Methyl  Thiophanate
                                   Technical.          Methyl.
83558-11........................  Pyrithiobac-sodium  Pyrithiobac-
                                   Technical.          Sodium.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ There are no existing stocks of these product registrations and no
  requests for existing stocks provisions. Therefore, no existing stocks
  provision will be provided for these product registrations.


         Table 2--Dodine Product Registrations With Requests for Amendment To Terminate One or More Uses
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           Registration No.                  Product name          Active ingredient        Use to be deleted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
55260-4..............................  Dodine Technical.......  Dodine.................  Strawberries.
55260-6..............................  Syllit Flow Fungicide..  Dodine.................
55260-11.............................  Syllit 65WG............  Dodine.................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 238]]

    Table 3 of this unit includes the names and addresses of record for 
the registrants of the products listed in Table 1 and Table 2 of this 
unit, in sequence by EPA company number. This number corresponds to the 
first part of the EPA registration numbers of the products listed in 
Table 1 and Table 2 of this unit.

Table 3--Registrants Requesting Voluntary Cancellation and/or Amendments
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              EPA Company No.                 Company name and address
------------------------------------------------------------------------
100.......................................  Syngenta Crop Protections,
                                             LLC, 410 Swing Road, P.O.
                                             Box 18300, Greensboro, NC
                                             27419-8300.
524.......................................  Monsanto Company, 1300 I
                                             Street NW., Suite 450 East,
                                             Washington, DC 20005-7211.
7969......................................  BASF Corporation, 26 Davis
                                             Drive, P.O. Box 13528,
                                             Research Triangle Park, NC
                                             27709-3528.
10163.....................................  Gowan Company, P.O. Box
                                             5569, Yuma, AZ 85366-5569.
55260.....................................  Agriphar S.A., 15401 Weston
                                             Parkway, Suite 150, Cary,
                                             NC 27513.
83558.....................................  ADAMA Celsius Property B.V.
                                             Amsterdam (NL), 3120
                                             Highwoods Blvd., Suite 100,
                                             Raleigh, NC 27604.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?

    Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA (7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1)) 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 acting on the request, 
EPA must publish a notice of receipt of any such request in the Federal 
Register.
    Section 6(f)(1)(B) of FIFRA (7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1)(B)) 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, FIFRA section 6(f)(1)(C) 
(7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1)(C)) 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 EPA Administrator determines that continued use of the 
pesticide would pose an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
    The alachlor, atrazine, dodine, fludioxonil, glyphosate, 
pyrithiobac, POE isooctadecanol, quizalofop-p-ethyl, thiamethoxam, and 
thiophanate methyl registrants have requested that EPA waive the 180-
day comment period. Accordingly, EPA will provide a 30-day comment 
period on the proposed requests.

V. Procedures for Withdrawal of Requests

    Registrants who choose to withdraw a request for product 
cancellation or use deletion should submit the withdrawal in writing to 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. If the 
product(s) have 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 
that are currently in the United States and that were packaged, 
labeled, and released for shipment prior to the effective date of the 
action. If the requests for voluntary cancellation and amendments to 
delete uses are granted, the Agency intends to publish the cancellation 
order in the Federal Register.
    In any order issued in response to these requests for cancellation 
of product registrations and for amendments to delete uses, EPA 
proposes to include the following provisions for the treatment of any 
existing stocks of the products listed in Tables 1 and 2 of Unit III.

A. For Products 524-523, 10163-291, 10163-292, and 100-1249 in Table 1 
of Unit III

    The registrants reported to the Agency via written correspondence 
that there are no existing stocks of these products. Therefore, no 
existing stocks provision was requested by or is needed for these 
registrants. The registrants will be prohibited from selling or 
distributing these products upon cancellation of these products, except 
for export consistent with FIFRA section 17 (7 U.S.C. 136o) or for 
proper disposal.

B. For All Other Products Identified in Table 1 of Unit III

    Because the Agency has identified no significant potential risk 
concerns associated with these pesticide products, upon cancellation, 
EPA anticipates allowing the registrants to sell and distribute 
existing stocks these products for 1 year after the effective date of 
the cancellation; i.e., one year after the date of publication of the 
cancellation order in the Federal Register. Thereafter, registrants 
will be prohibited from selling or distributing the products identified 
in Table 1 of Unit III, except for export consistent with FIFRA section 
17 (7 U.S.C. 136o) or for proper disposal.
    Persons other than the registrant will generally be allowed to 
sell, distribute, or use existing stocks of the affected canceled 
products until such stocks are exhausted, provided that such sale, 
distribution, or use is consistent with the terms of the previously 
approved labeling on, or that accompanied, the canceled products.

C. For All Products Identified in Table 2 of Unit III

    Once EPA has approved product labels reflecting the requested 
amendments to terminate uses, registrants will be permitted to sell or 
distribute products under the previously approved labeling for a period 
of 18 months after the date of Federal Register publication of the 
cancellation order, unless other restrictions have been imposed. 
Thereafter, registrants will be prohibited from selling or distributing 
the products whose labels include the terminated uses identified in 
Table 2 of Unit III, except for export consistent with FIFRA section 17 
or for proper disposal.
    Persons other than the registrant may sell, distribute, or use 
existing stocks of the products whose labels include the terminated 
uses until supplies are exhausted, provided that such sale, 
distribution, or use is consistent with the terms of the previously 
approved labeling on, or that accompanied, the products with the 
terminated uses.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.

     Dated: December 23, 2015.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2015-33179 Filed 1-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P