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News Archive: August 2002

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This information is provided for reference. Over time, links to news items may become unavailable, in these cases the item will remain listed, but no link will be provided. Also, please be aware that the information in any particular article may be outdated or superseded by additional information.

August 28
North Carolina Meat Packing Company Sentenced for Clean Water Act Conspiracy
For conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act, Lakeview Packing Co. of Snowhill, North Carolina, was sentenced to pay a $75,000 fine and serve 5 years' probation. Lakeview Packing is a hog slaughter and processing company. The defendant admitted that it conspired with its employees to intentionally discharge processing wastes from its facility through a drainage pipe into Tyson Marsh, which empties into Contentnea Creek, a tributary of the Neuse River. The amount discharged averaged approximately 30,000 gallons per day.

Risk Assessment Available for Carbaryl
This notice announces the availability of the human health and environmental fate and effects risk assessments and related documents for carbaryl. This notice also starts a 60-day public comment period for the risk assessments. Comments, identified by the docket ID number OPP-2002-0138 carbaryl, must be received on or before October 28, 2002.

EPA Issues Guidance on Threshold of Regulation Requests
The Office of Pesticide Programs has announced the availability of guidance on submitting requests for a threshold of regulation determination. This guidance addresses how registrants may submit requests if they believe they have situations when the use of a pesticide on a food crop may not require issuance of a tolerance (maximum amount of residue allowed to remain in or on food) or tolerance exemption. It also addresses how EPA will process such requests.

August 27
Effluent Guidelines Program Plan for 2002/2003
This document announces EPA's Effluent Guidelines Program Plan for 2002/2003, which describes the Agency's ongoing effluent guidelines development efforts. Under the Clean Water Act, EPA establishes national regulations, termed "effluent guidelines," to reduce pollutant discharges from industrial facilities to surface waters and publicly owned treatment works. The Agency published a proposed plan on June 18, 2002, and public comments on the proposed plan are discussed in this notice. In addition, to prepare for the Effluent Guidelines Program Plan to be published in 2004 (for years 2004/2005), the Agency invites the public to identify existing effluent guidelines that EPA should consider revising and to identify any industrial categories for which effluent guidelines should be promulgated.

August 26
Supplemental Guidelines for the Award of Section 319 Nonpoint Source Grants to States and Territories in FY 2003
EPA has developed guidelines that describe the process and criteria to be used to award Clean Water Act Section 319 nonpoint source grants to states and territories in FY 2003.

Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates

August 23
 Assistance Available for Methyl Bromide CUE Applications
EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have prepared a Questions and Answers document to address concerns raised by prospective applicants for methyl bromide critical use exemptions (CUE). In preparing this document, both agencies hope to provide additional guidance to the applicant community, address specific issues that have been raised, and encourage an ongoing dialogue between government agencies and the methyl bromide user community throughout this process. As the need arises or as EPA learns new information about how the CUE process will operate in the international context, EPA and USDA will update this document.

West Nile Virus Resources Available to Public
The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) offers a West Nile Virus Resource Guide with information on the virus; contacts at local, state, and federal agencies; and maps and statistics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a comprehensive web site regarding West Nile Virus, which provides many resources including preventive measures to follow and how to contact local and state authorities.

August 22
EPA Extends Comment Period on Organophosphate Cumulative Risk Assessment
The comment period on the revised cumulative risk assessment for the organophosphate pesticides, which EPA released in June, has been extended until September 9, 2002. The initial comment period was scheduled to close on July 22.

August 21
Pronamide Tolerance Reassessment Available for Comment
This notice of a tolerance reassessment for pronamide starts a 30-day public comment period during which the public is encouraged to submit comments on the Agency's "Report of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) Tolerance Reassessment Progress and Risk Management Decision (TRED) for pronamide." Comments, identified by docket control number OPP-2002-0159 must be received on or before September 20, 2002.

Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates

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August 16
Atrazine Evaluation Deadline Extension
On Friday, Aug. 9, 2002, EPA filed a motion to amend a federal court consent decree to extend the deadline for completion of the Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (IRED) for the herbicide atrazine. EPA was originally expected to complete the IRED for atrazine by Aug. 3, 2002. The Agency and the Natural Resources Defense Council jointly agreed to request that the court extend the deadline for the IRED to Jan. 31, 2003 to allow time to review new data on atrazine's environmental effects. The revised IRED will consider a number of additional studies on potential amphibian risk. The new schedule includes an IRED issued by January 31, 2003, and a revised IRED by October 31, 2003.

August 14
Organophosphate Pesticides; Reassessment of Additional Non-Contributing Commodity Tolerances
As part of its ongoing review of existing organophosphate tolerances under the Food Quality Protection Act, EPA has determined that 37 organophosphate tolerances can be reassessed at this time. This includes various tolerances for azinphos methyl, chlorpyrifos, disulfoton, mevinphos, oxydemeton methyl, phorate, phosalone, and phosmet.

Organophosphate Pesticides; Reassessment of Meat Commodity Tolerances for Tetrachlorvinphos
As part of its ongoing review of existing organophosphate (OP) tolerances under the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), EPA has determined that 11 meat commodity tolerances for tetrachlorvinphos can be reassessed at this time.

Senate Confirms Suarez to be EPA Assistant Administrator
The U.S. Senate confirmed John Peter Suarez to be EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. He previously served in New Jersey as a federal prosecutor, Special Assistant to the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice and Director of the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Tennessee Man Arrested, Indicted for Pesticide Poisoning of Birds
A Trezevant, Tennessee man was arrested on July 22. He was indicted on July 18 for allegedly violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by baiting deer carcasses with the pesticide aldicarb. Nine hawks were killed when they ate deer flesh that the defendant is alleged to have poisoned for the purpose of killing the birds. Aldicarb is a highly toxic pesticide which can present a significant risk to humans and wildlife through either direct contact with a poisoned animal or by inhalation. The indicted man has previously served six months in federal prison after being convicted of a similar offense.

Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates

August 6
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Process for Exempting Critical Uses of Methyl Bromide
EPA is soliciting applications for the Critical Use Exemption from the phaseout of methyl bromide. This application process offers users of methyl bromide the opportunity to provide technical and economic information to support a "critical use" claim. Applications for the Critical Use Exemption must be postmarked on or before September 9, 2002.

EPA Sets the Record Straight on Pesticide Tolerance Evaluations
On Friday, Aug. 2, EPA announced that it had met a significant milestone for food safety by reassessing more than 6,400 allowable pesticide residues on food (called tolerances) to ensure that they satisfy the tougher food safety standard contained in the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996. Reaching this goal was accomplished through an exhaustive scientific and regulatory effort involving key stakeholders throughout the process.

August 5
Decision Announced on Lindane
EPA has completed its review of the organochlorine insecticide and acaricide lindane. EPA has determined that the currently registered lindane products (for seed treatment on six crops) would be eligible for reregistration if the registrants make the changes specified in the Agency's Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) document and provide certain required data, and if EPA is able to establish any tolerances necessary for residues of lindane in food from currently registered uses. EPA will revoke all existing lindane tolerances because the lindane uses for which those tolerances were originally established have been canceled. Lindane is currently used in the U.S. as a pre-plant seed treatment for barley, corn, oats, rye, sorghum, and wheat.

Diazinon Decision Addresses Ecological and Worker Risks
EPA will phase out and cancel certain additional crop uses and formulations of the organophosphate insecticide diazinon to reduce risks to birds and other wildlife, agricultural workers, and the environment. These actions are part of a second agreement between EPA and diazinon technical registrants, reflected in the Diazinon Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (IRED) signed by the Agency on July 31, 2002. Diazinon is eligible for reregistration, provided that risk mitigation measures specified in the IRED are adopted.

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EPA Announces Availability of Endosulfan Decision Documents
On July 31, 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed the Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) document for endosulfan. This document reflects the risk management and tolerance reassessment decision for this pesticide. An organochlorine insecticide, endosulfan is used on a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, cereals, and cotton, as well as ornamental greenery in agricultural settings.

EPA Reassesses 42 Organophosphate Tolerances
EPA has, in two actions, reassessed a total of 42 additional organophosphate pesticide tolerances. In these actions, which are part of the review of existing organophosphate tolerances under the Food Quality Protection Act, EPA has determined that three tolerances for chlorpyrifos and 39 diazinon tolerances meet the safety standard in section 408(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and can be reassessed. EPA has concluded that these tolerances make, at most, a negligible contribution to the cumulative risk from organophosphate pesticides because they were found in no more than a small number of samples in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Pesticide Data Program.

Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates

August 2
EPA Meets Pesticide Tolerance Reassessment Goal
EPA has met a significant milestone in a multi-year regulatory process to reassess existing levels for allowable pesticide residues on food (called "tolerances"). August 2 marked the successful completion of the second phase of an intensive 10-year scientific and regulatory effort to ensure that all existing pesticide tolerances meet the tougher food safety standard called for in the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996. That law required EPA to complete the comprehensive safety evaluation of more than 66 percent of existing pesticide tolerances by August 3.

Tolerance Revocations Announced for Certain Uses of 23 Pesticides
On July 31, 2002, EPA published a rule to revoke 140 specific tolerances for residues of 23 pesticide chemicals: acephate, amitraz, carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, cryolite, disulfoton, ethalfluralin, ethion, ethoprop, fenthion, fluvalinate, methamidophos, metribuzin, oxamyl, phorate, phosalone, phosmet, pirimiphos-methyl, profenofos, propiconazole, tetrachlorvinphos, thiram, and tribufos. These tolerances are being revoked because they are either no longer needed or are associated with food uses that are no longer current or registered in the United States.

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