EPA
Pesticide Program Update from EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs 08/31/01
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides
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1) EPA EXTENDS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR Bt
CROP REASSESSMENT
2) EPA RELEASES PRELIMINARY RISK ASSESSMENT FOR LINDANE
3) EPA TO HOLD TRIBAL PESTICIDE PROGRAM COUNCIL
MEETING
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1) EPA EXTENDS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR Bt
CROP REASSESSMENT
EPA has
extended the public comment period for the Bacillus
thurigiensis
(Bt) crop reassessment until September 10, 2001.
In
response to requests from members of the public, EPA will
provide
additional time to submit comments regarding the
implications
of the revised risk and benefit sections of the Bt
reassessment,
the draft paper on potential risk mitigation and
regulatory
options, and the regulatory decision documents on
the Bt
Cry1F protein. These documents are part
of the
comprehensive
scientific and public review of the current
registrations
for Bt corn and Bt cotton, which the Agency
initially
undertook in August 2000. EPA has
extended the
time
allowed for public comment to ensure that our decisions
are
based on the best available scientific analysis and to
provide
additional transparency in our decision-making process.
All
comments must be identified by docket control number
OPP-00678B.
EPA has
also established "reading rooms" for public viewing of
certain
confidential data submitted by the Agricultural
Biotechnology
Stewardship Technical Committee (ABSTC)
concerning
the effect of Bt corn pollen on monarch butterflies.
ABSTC
made its submissions in response to a December 15,
1999,
notice calling for data concerning the potential for adverse
effects
of Bt Corn on nontarget lepidopterans.
With ABSTC's
permission,
EPA has established reading rooms to allow the
public
access to the 27 pages of data that ABSTC has claimed
as
confidential business information (CBI), provided the viewer
first
sign a confidentiality agreement. The Reading Rooms are
located
at EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs in Arlington, VA,
and at
EPA regional offices in the following cities: Boston, MA;
New
York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL;
Dallas,
TX; Kansas City, KS; Denver, CO; San Francisco, CA;
and
Seattle, WA. Further instructions on
the reading room
process
are located on the Web at:
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/otherdocs/bt_corn_monarch.htm
For
further information, contact Mike Mendelsohn, Biopesticides
and
Pollution Prevention Division, at (703) 308-8715 or e-mail at:
mendelsohn.mike@epa.gov
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2) EPA RELEASES PRELIMINARY RISK ASSESSMENT FOR
LINDANE
On
August 29, 2001, EPA released preliminary human health and
ecological
risk assessment documents for a pesticide undergoing
reregistration
and tolerance reassessment:
lindane. EPA will
accept
comments on this risk assessment until October 29, 2001.
Lindane
is an insecticide registered for use as
an agriculture
pre-plant
seed treatment on 13 crops. One
proposed new crop
also is
being considered for addition to the label:
canola seed
treatment.
The
preliminary risk assessment for this chemical was developed
as part
of the Agency's process for making reregistration eligibility
decisions
and tolerance reassessments for pesticides, consistent
with
provisions of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide
Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
as
amended by the Food Quality Protection
Act (FQPA). By
allowing
access and opportunity for comment on the preliminary
risk
assessment, EPA is seeking to strengthen stakeholder
involvement
and help ensure that our decisions under FQPA are
transparent
and based on the best available information.
EPA
cautions
that the risk assessment documents are only preliminary.
As new
information becomes available and additional analyses
are
performed, the Agency's conclusions about risks may change,
and
further refinements of the documents may be appropriate.
The
risk assessment documents and brief summaries are
available
on EPA's Web site:
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/lindane
).
The
Federal Register notice announcing its availability is available
on
EPA's Web site: www.epa.gov/fedrgstr .
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3) EPA TO HOLD TRIBAL PESTICIDE PROGRAM
COUNCIL MEETING
The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in the
Federal
Register a 2-day meeting of the Tribal Pesticide Program
Council
(TPPC) that will be held on September 20-21, 2001. This
will be
the fourth meeting of the full TPPC, a national group which
allows
Tribes and various Tribal organizations to work with EPA to
address
tribal pesticide program and technical issues at a national
level. The meeting will address the following
topics: FIFRA sections
18
(emergency exemptions for pesticide use) and 24(c) (State local
needs
registrations) and tribal authority under FIFRA; basic elements
of
tribal pesticide programs; the Native American Graves Protection
and
Repatriation Act; integrated pest management programs focusing
on
school and structural applications; Federal inspector credentials;
worker
protection; Gila River Indian Community Pesticide Program
Reports
from TPPC Working Groups; Office of Pesticide Program
funding
awards for special projects and water quality; and information
on
funding, data collections issues, and training from the Office of
Enforcement
and Compliance Assurance.
The
meeting will take place at the Ak-Chin Indian Community
(Maricopa)
in Arizona. The meetings will run from
8:00 am to 5:00
pm each
day. For more information, please
contact Georgia
McDuffie,
Field and External Affairs Division, by phone at
703-605-0195,
or by e-mail at McDuffie.Georgia@EPA.gov;
also,
questions may be directed to the Native Ecology Initiative's
Lillian
Wilmore, Coordinator for the TPPC in Brookline Village,
Massachusetts,
by phone at 617 232 5742, or by e-mail
at
NaEcology@aol.com.
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