Pesticides; tolerances in food, animal feeds, and raw agricultural commodities: anisic acid); correction,

[Federal Register: March 3, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 41)]

[Rules and Regulations]

[Page 10233-10234]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr03mr99-10]

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 180

[OPP-300767A; FRL-6049-2]

Dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid); Pesticide Tolerance, Technical Correction

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule, correction.

SUMMARY: This document makes a technical correction to the dicamba pesticide tolerance regulations that established, revised and revoked tolerances for use of the combined residues of dicamba on various raw agricultural commodities.

DATES: This technical correction is effective on March 3, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Joanne I. Miller, Registration Division (7505C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. Office location, telephone number, and e-mail address: Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA, (703) 305-6224, e-mail: miller.joanne@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

   In the Federal Register of November 20, 1998 (63 FR 64481)(FRL- 6043-9), EPA issued a notice pursuant to section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 346a(e) announcing the filing of pesticide petitions (PP 6F4604, 4F3041 and FAP 4H5428) for tolerances by BASF Corporation. This notice included a summary of the petitions prepared by BASF. There were no comments received in response to the notice of filing.

   In the Federal Register of January 6, 1999 (64 FR 759)(FRL-6049-2) EPA issued a rule amending 40 CFR 180.227 by establishing, revising and revoking tolerances for combined residues of the herbicide dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid) and its metabolites 3,6-dichloro-5- hydroxy-o-anisic acid and 3,6-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzoic acid.

2. Why is this Technical Correction Issued as a Final Rule?

   EPA is publishing this action as a final rule without prior notice and comment because the Agency believes that providing notice and comment is unnecessary and would be contrary to the public interest. As explained in Unit II of this preamble, the corrections contained in this action will correct errors in the preamble and the amendatory instructions to a previously published Final rule. EPA finds that there is ``good cause'' under section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) to make this amendment without prior notice and comment.

3. Do Any of the Regulatory Assessment Requirements Apply to this Action?

   No. This final rule does not impose any new requirements. It only implements a technical correction to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). As such, this action does not require review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866, entitled Regulatory Planning and Review (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., or Executive Order 13045, entitled Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997). This action does not impose any enforceable duty, contain any unfunded mandate, or impose any significant or unique impact on small governments as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) (Pub. L. 104-4). Nor does it require prior

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   consultation with State, local, and tribal government officials as specified by Executive Order 12875, entitled Enhancing the Intergovernmental Partnership (58 FR 58093, October 28, 1993) and Executive Order 13084, entitled Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments (63 FR 27655, May 19,1998), or special consideration of environmental justice related issues under Executive Order 12898, entitled Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). This action does not involve any technical standards that would require Agency consideration of voluntary consensus standards pursuant to section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Pub. L. 104- 113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note). In addition, since this action is not subject to notice-and-comment requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) or any other statute, it is not subject to the regulatory flexibility provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

4. Will EPA Submit this Final Rule to Congress and the Comptroller General?

   Yes. The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. Section 808 allows the issuing agency to make a good cause finding that notice and public procedure is impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest. This determination must be supported by a brief statement. 5 U.S.C. 808(2). EPA has made such a good cause finding for this final rule, and established an effective date of March 3, 1999. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C 808(2), this determination is supported by the brief statement in Unit III of this document. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

   List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 180

   Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, Agriculatural commodities, Pesticides and pest, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

   This technical amendment corrects an error in the preamble to the rule, the amendatory language instruction, and reformats one of the entries in the table to Sec. 180.227 in the January 6, 1999 (FR doc. 99-109), decamba tolerance amendments. The corrections are:

   1. On page 759, in the third column, the first full paragraph from the top of the page is corrected to read as follows:

      ``These petitions requested that 40 CFR 180.227 be amended by establishing, revising and revoking tolerances for combined residues of the herbicide dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid) and its metabolites 3,6-dichloro-5-hydroxy-o-anisic acid and 3,6-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzoic acid in or on the commodities listed in the summary of this Final Rule.''

   2. On page 769, in the first column, in instruction 3., amendatory language item ``i.'' is revised to read as follows:

      ``i. In newly designated paragraph (a)(1), by revising the entries for the following commodities: barley, grain; barley, straw; wheat, grain; and wheat, straw; by adding alphabetically entries for barley, hay; corn, field, forage; corn, field, stover; corn, pop stover; cottonseed; cottonseed, meal; crop group 17 (grass, forage, fodder and hay); grass, forage; grass, hay; oat, forage; oats, hay; wheat, forage; and wheat, hay; and by removing the entries for asparagus; grasses, hay; grasses, pasture; and grasses, rangeland''.

   3. In the second column, Sec. 180.227, the table to paragraph (a)(1) is amended to correct the entry for ``Crop group 17 (grass, forage, fodder and hay); grass, forage; and grass, hay''.

      Commodity

      Parts per million

      *

      *

      *

      *

      * Crop Group 17 (grass, forage, fodder and hay):. Grass, forage........................... 125.0 Grass, hay.............................. 200.0 *

      *

      *

      *

      *

      Dated: February 19, 1999.

      James Jones,

      Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.

      [FR Doc. 99-5103Filed3-2-99; 8:45 am]

      BILLING CODE 6560-50-F