[Federal Register: October 9, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 195)]
[Notices]
[Page 52285-52288]
[DOCID:fr09oc09-120]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-60766; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2009-86]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to
Activity Assessment Fees

October 1, 2009.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(the ``Exchange Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is
hereby given that, on September 28, 2009, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``NYSE
Arca'' or the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described
in Items I and II below, which Items have been prepared by the
Exchange. NYSE Arca filed the proposed rule change as a ``non-
controversial'' proposal pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \3\
and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder,\4\ which renders the proposal
effective upon filing with the Commission. The Commission is publishing
this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from
interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change

    NYSE Arca proposes to, among other changes, (1) amend NYSE Arca
Equities Rule 2.17(a) to provide for an Activity Assessment Fee to be
paid by ETP Holders in connection with the Exchange's required payments
to the Commission under Section 31 of the Exchange Act; \5\ (2) add
Commentary .01 to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17 to allow ETP Holders to
voluntarily submit to the Exchange, on or before December 31, 2009,
funds that may have been previously accumulated by them to satisfy
their, and subsequently NYSE Arca's, obligation to remit Section 31-
related fees; and (3) amend NYSE Arca Options Rule 2.18(a) to provide
for an Activity Assessment Fee to be paid by OTP Firms and Holders in
connection with the required payments to the Commission under Section
31 of the Exchange Act.
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    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78ee.
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    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's
Web site at http://www.nyse.com, at the Exchange's principal office and
at the Public Reference Room of the Commission.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization
included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the
proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at
the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared
summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most
significant parts of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    Pursuant to Section 31 of the Exchange Act and Rule 31
thereunder,\6\ national securities exchanges and associations
(collectively, ``SROs'') are required to pay a transaction fee to the
SEC that is designed to recover the costs related to the government's
supervision and regulation of the securities markets and securities
professionals. To offset this obligation, the ETP Holders (under NYSE
Arca Equities Rule 2.17) and OTP Firms and OTP Holders (under NYSE Arca
Options Rule 2.18) are assessed charges in connection with satisfaction
of the Exchange's payment obligations under Section 31. The Exchange
calculates such fees by multiplying the aggregate dollar amount of
``covered sales'' (as defined in Section 31 of the Exchange Act)
effected on the Exchange during the appropriate period by the Section
31(b) fee rate in effect during that period. Clearing members may in
turn seek to charge a fee to their customers or correspondent firms.
Any allocation of the fee between the clearing member and its
correspondent firm or customer is the responsibility of the clearing
member.
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    \6\ 17 CFR 240.31.
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    NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17 and NYSE Arca Options Rule 2.18 relate
to payment by ETP Holders (pursuant to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17)
and by

OTP Firms and OTP Holders (pursuant to NYSE Arca Options Rule 2.18) of
charges imposed by the Exchange in connection with the Exchange's
payment to the Commission of amounts required under Section 31 of the
Exchange Act. The Exchange proposes to (1) provide for an Activity
Assessment Fee to be paid by ETP Holders in connection with the
Exchange's required payments to the Commission under Section 31 of the
Exchange Act; (2) add Commentary .01 to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17 to
allow ETP Holders to voluntarily submit to the Exchange, on or before
December 31, 2009, funds that may have been previously accumulated by
them to satisfy their, and subsequently NYSE Arca's, obligation to
remit Section 31-related fees; and (3) amend NYSE Arca Options Rule
2.18(a) to provide for an Activity Assessment Fee to be paid by OTP
Firms and Holders in connection with the required payments to the
Commission under Section 31 of the Exchange Act.
Proposed Amendments to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17
    The Exchange proposes to amend NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17(a) to
delete outdated language regarding amounts payable under Section 31.
The rule, as amended, characterizes the fees payable under such rule as
Activity Assessment Fees. The proposed rule states that each ETP Holder
that effects securities transactions on the Corporation that are
defined in Section 31 of the Exchange Act as ``covered sales'' of
securities shall pay to the Corporation Activity Assessment Fees based
upon all of their covered sales. The proposed rule provides that the
Exchange shall calculate Activity Assessment Fees by multiplying the
aggregate dollar amount of covered sales effected on the Corporation by
the ETP Holder during the appropriate computational period by the
Section 31(b) fee rate in effect during that computational period. The
proposed rule provides that Activity Assessment Fees shall be due and
payable at such times and intervals as prescribed by the Exchange, and
that ETP Holders that cease to effect securities transactions on the
Corporation shall promptly pay to the Corporation any sum due pursuant
to the rule. In addition, the Exchange proposes to add paragraph (c) to
NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17 to provide that, to the extent that there
may be excess monies collected under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17(a),
the Corporation may retain those monies to help fund its regulatory
expenses.
Program for Payment of Accumulated Funds or Designation of Exchange
Accumulated Excess
    Reconciling the amounts billed by the Exchange and the amounts
collected from the customers historically had been difficult for ETP
Holders, possibly causing surpluses to accumulate at some broker-dealer
firms (referred to herein as ``accumulated funds''). Such accumulated
funds may not have been remitted to the Exchange by certain firms,
despite the fact that these charges may have been previously identified
as ``Section 31 Fees'' or ``SEC Fees'' by the firms.\7\ In addition,
the Exchange has accumulated amounts remitted to the Corporation by ETP
Holders collected by such ETP Holders in excess of their Rule 2.17
assessment, and in excess of amounts paid by the Corporation to the SEC
pursuant to Section 31 of the Exchange Act (``Corporation accumulated
excess'').
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    \7\ The SEC stated in its release adopting new Rule 31 and Rule
31T that ``it is misleading to suggest that a customer or an SRO
member incurs an obligation to the Commission under Section 31.''
See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 49928 (June 28, 2004), 69 FR
41060, 41072 (July 7, 2004).
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    In November 2004, the Exchange and other self-regulatory
organizations (``SROs'') received a letter from the SEC's Division of
Market Regulation (now the Division of Trading and Markets) requesting,
among other things, that the Exchange conduct an analysis to ascertain
the amount of accumulated funds and present a plan for broker-dealers
to dispose of or otherwise resolve title to such accumulated funds.
Following discussion among the SROs and staff of the Division of Market
Regulation, in an effort to ascertain the amount of accumulated funds,
the NASD (now FINRA) surveyed 240 member clearing and self-clearing
firms to review their practices regarding the collection of such fees
from customers. After compiling and analyzing the data provided by
member firms, NASD staff found that over half of the firms surveyed did
not have an accumulated funds balance. NASD worked with the other SROs
to recommend a potential solution to allow NASD and other SRO member
firms to resolve title to the accumulated funds. It was determined,
based upon information provided in connection with NASD's survey, that
it would be virtually impossible to return customer-related accumulated
funds to the customers that had paid these funds to the firms.\8\
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    \8\ NASD has asked all surveyed firms whether they could
``identify and relate the funds to specific customers on a
transaction by transaction basis.'' The surveyed firms universally
stated that tracking fractions of a penny to individual customers
would be impossible and any over-collections could not be passed
back at the customer level. See Securities Exchange Act Release No.
34-55697 (May 2, 2007), 72 FR 26432 (May 9, 2007) (SR-NASD-2007-
027).
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    The proposed rule change is aimed at enabling those fees that may
have been collected for purposes of paying an ``SEC Fee'' or ``Section
31 Fee'' to be used to pay such fees. The Exchange is proposing new
NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17, Commentary .01 that will allow ETP
Holders, on a one-time-only basis, voluntarily to remit historically
accumulated funds to the Exchange. These funds then would be used to
pay the Exchange's current Section 31 fees in conformity with prior
representations made by ETP Holders. In addition, an ETP Holder may
designate all or part of the Exchange accumulated excess held by the
Exchange and allocated to ETP Holder to be used by the Exchange in
accordance with the terms of NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17, Commentary
.01.
    Finally, to the extent the payment of these historically
accumulated funds or Exchange accumulated excess is in excess of the
fees due the SEC from NYSE Arca under Section 31 of the Exchange Act,
such surplus shall be used by the Exchange to offset Exchange
regulatory costs. Specifically, the Exchange will subject such surplus
to the same treatment utilized with respect to unused fine income that
has accumulated beyond a level reasonably necessary for future
contingencies. That is, the board of directors of NYSE Regulation, Inc.
will utilize such surplus to fund one or more special projects of NYSE
Regulation, Inc., to reduce fees charged by NYSE Regulation, Inc. to
its member organizations or the markets that it serves, or for a
charitable purpose.\9\
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    \9\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55003 (December 22,
2006), 71 FR 78497 (December 29, 2007) (SR-NYSE-2006-109) (approved
in Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55216 (January 31, 2007), 72
FR 5779 (February 7, 2007), relating to NYSE Regulation, Inc.
policies regarding exercise of power to fine NYSE member
organizations and use of money collected as fines).
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    The Exchange proposes that the effective date of the proposed rule
change would be the date of filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule
19b-4(f)(6) under the Exchange Act.\10\ In addition, NYSE Arca Equities
Rule 2.17, Commentary .01 would automatically sunset on December 31,
2009.
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    \10\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
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Proposed Amendments to NYSE Arca Options Rule 2.18
    Similar to the proposed changes to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17,
described above, the Exchange also

proposes to delete outdated language regarding amounts payable under
Section 31 in NYSE Arca Options Rule 2.18 and to characterize the fees
payable under such rule as Activity Assessment Fees. The proposed rule
states the current practice relating to collection and payment of
Section 31-related fees for options transactions, namely, that Activity
Assessment Fees are collected from OTP Firms and OTP Holders through
their clearing firms by the Options Clearing Corporation on behalf of
the Exchange. In addition, the Exchange proposes to add paragraph (c)
to NYSE Arca Options Rule 2.18 to provide that, to the extent that
there may be excess monies collected under NYSE Arca Equities Rule
2.18(a), the Corporation may retain those monies to help fund its
regulatory expenses.
2. Statutory Basis
    The proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) \11\ of
the Exchange Act, in general, and furthers the objectives of Section
6(b)(4) of the Exchange Act,\12\ which permits the rules of an Exchange
to provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and
other charges among its members, and issuers and other persons using
its facilities. In addition, the proposed rule change is consistent
with Section 6(b)(5) \13\ of the Exchange Act in that it is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just
and equitable principles of trade, to foster cooperation and
coordination with persons engaged in facilitating transactions in
securities, and to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanisms of
a free and open market and a national market system. The Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change will provide a transparent way
of addressing the issue of accumulated funds held at the member firm
level as well as the Corporation accumulated excess. As this proposed
rule change would automatically sunset, it will be of a limited
duration. Moreover, based on the reminder set forth in the proposed
NYSE Arca Equities Rule 2.17, Commentary .01 and the issuance of prior
Information Memos on this matter, any accumulation of funds that are
collected and disclosed as ``Section 31 Fees'' or ``SEC Fees'' should
not reoccur.
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the
proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action

    The Exchange has filed the proposed rule change pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act \14\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder.\15\
Because the proposed rule change does not: (i) Significantly affect the
protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any
significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative prior to
30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as
the Commission may designate, if consistent with the protection of
investors and the public interest, the proposed rule change has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \16\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6)(iii) thereunder.\17\
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    \14\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii).
    \15\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
    \16\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \17\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii)
requires the Exchange to give the Commission written notice of the
Exchange's intent to file the proposed rule change along with a
brief description and text of the proposed rule change, at least
five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule
change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission. The
Exchange has satisfied the pre-filing requirement.
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    The Exchange requests that the Commission waive the 30-day
operative delay to allow for implementation of the proposed voluntary
program in a timely manner to accommodate the proposed December 31,
2009 sunset date. The Commission has previously approved proposals for
similar programs at other exchanges.\18\ Therefore, the Commission
believes that waiving the 30-day operative delay to allow the Exchange
to implement this proposed rule change without delay is consistent with
the protection of investors and the public interest. The Commission
hereby designates the proposal operative upon filing.\19\
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    \18\ See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 55886 (June
8, 2007), 72 FR 32935 (June 14, 2007) (SR-NASD-2007-027); 57829 (May
16, 2008), 73 FR 30173 (May 23, 2008) (SR-Amex-2007-107); and 58108
(July 7, 2008), 73 FR 40413 (July 14, 2008) (SR-NYSE-2007-64).
    \19\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay,
the Commission has considered the proposed rule's impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C.
78c(f).
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    At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule
change, the Commission may summarily abrogate such rule change if it
appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://
www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an e-mail to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Please include
File Number SR-NYSEArca-2009-86 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2009-86. This
file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used.
To help the Commission process and review your comments more
efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all
comments on the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments,
all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that
are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating
to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person,
other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance
with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection
and copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street,
NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours
of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All

submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2009-86 and should
be submitted on or before October 30, 2009.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\20\
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    \20\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-24351 Filed 10-8-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


04-19-07

TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY FACE-TO-FACE MEETING

DRAFT AGENDA

April 25-26, 2007

Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC) Facility

Auditorium (Main Mtg) and Room 130-138 (Posters)

26 W. Martin Luther King Drive

Cincinnati, OH 45268

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

8:00 – 8:30 a.m.	Registration

8:30-8:45 a.m.	Welcome and Outline of Purpose	Dr. John Giesy

		- 	Subcommittee Charge		Subcommittee Chair

8:45-9:00 a.m.	DFO Remarks	Clois Slocum (ORD)

	   	- 	Administrative Procedures/FACA	Subcommittee DFO

			Rules

	9:00-9:30 a.m.		Research Program Overview: 	Mr. Gordon Evans (ORD)

				The Evolution from P2 to Sustainability

	9:30-10:00 a.m.		LTG 1 Overview: Metrics 	Dr. Herb Cabezas (ORD)

	10:00 – 10:30 a.m.	LTG 1:  Poster Session

Sustainability Metrics

Poster Session Discussion	Subcommittee

	10:30 – 10:45 a.m.	Break

	10:45 – 11:15 a.m. 	LTG 2 Overview: Decision Support	Dr. Michael Gonzalez (ORD)

				Tools

	11:15 – 11:45 a.m.	LTG 2: Poster Session

Collaborative Network for 	Dr. Gary Foley (ORD)

Sustainability

	11:45 – 1:00 p.m.	Lunch

	1:00 – 2:00 p.m.	LTG 2: Poster Session (Continued)

				-	Life Cycle Assessment	Ms. Mary Ann Curran (ORD)

				-	Environmental Impact Assessment	Ms. Jane Bare (ORD)

					Modeling

	2:00 – 2:15 p.m.	LTG 2 Poster Session Discussion		Subcommittee

	2:15 – 2:45 p.m.	LTG 3 Overview: Technologies		Dr. Douglas Young (ORD)

	2:45 -3:00 p.m.	Break

	3:00 – 4:00 p.m.	LTG 3: Poster Session

Environmental Technology 		Ms. Teresa Harten (ORD)

Verification

Small Business Innovative 		Dr. Gary Foley (ORD)

Research Program

	4:00 – 4:15 p.m.	LTG 3 Poster Session Discussion		Subcommittee

	4:15 – 5:30 p.m.	Working Session		Subcommittee

	5:30 p.m.			Adjourn

Thursday, April 26, 2007

8:00 – 8:15 a.m.	Review of Yesterday’s Activities/		Dr. John Giesy

	Overview of Today’s Agenda	Subcommittee Chair

	8:15 – 9:15 a.m.	LTG 3: Poster Session (Continued)

                                                    -  		P3 Student Design Competition		Dr. Gary Foley (ORD)

-	Green Technologies		Dr. Leland Vane and Dr. E. Sahle-				Demessie (ORD)

	9:15 – 9:30 a.m.	LTG 3 Poster Session Discussion		Subcommittee

	9:30 – 9:45 a.m.	Public Comments

	9:45 – 10:00 a.m.	Break

	10:00 – 11:30 a.m.	Program Perspectives

	U.S. EPA Regional Office:  Region 1	Ms. Maggie Theroux

	Office of Environmental Stewardship

CRADA Partner	Mr. Claude Kennard

	Chief Executive Officer

	MAR Systems

ETV Partner	Ms. Karen Riggs

	Product Line Manager

	Battelle

	Academic Community	Dr. Joseph Fiksel

	Center for Resilience

	The Ohio State University

	11:30 – 12:00 noon 	Subcommittee Working Time		Subcommittee

	12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m.	Working Lunch

	1:00 – 5:00 p.m.	Subcommittee Working Time, Wrap-up,			Subcommittee

			and Report Out

	5:00 p.m.		Adjourn

BOSC Technology for Sustainability Subcommittee April 25-26, 2007 Draft Agenda

 PAGE

 PAGE   2

            A Federal Advisory Committee for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development


[Federal Register: April 16, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 74)]
[Notices]
[Page 20629-20631]
[DOCID:fr16ap08-48]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0248; FRL-8361-5]

Creosote Revised Risk Assessments and Qualitative Economic
Analysis of the Alternatives; Notice of Availability and Solicitation
of Risk Reduction Options

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of EPA's revised risk
assessments for the pesticide creosote. In addition, this notice
solicits public comment on risk reduction options for creosote as well
as solicits comments on the qualitative economic impacts analysis,
(Phase 5 of 6-Phase Process). EPA is developing a Reregistration
Eligibility Decision (RED) for creosote through the full, 6-Phase
public participation process that the Agency uses to involve the public
in developing pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment
decisions. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that all pesticides
meet current health and safety standards.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 16, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0248, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P),
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The
Docket Facility telephone number is<PHONE_NUMBER>.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2008-0248. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-
mail. The regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov,
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part
of the comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to
http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket
Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov
website to view the docket index or access available documents.
Although, listed in the index, some information is not publicly
available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted
material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are
available either in the electronic docket at http://
www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPP
Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.),
2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of operation of this
Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703)
305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacqueline Cambpell-McFarlane,
Antimicrobials Division (7510P), Office of Pesticide Programs,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460-

0001; telephone number:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax number:<PHONE_NUMBER>; e-
mail address<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
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. If you have any questions regarding the
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

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 e-mail. 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 submitting comments,
remember to:
    i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.

II. Background

A. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    EPA is making available the Agency's revised risk assessments,
initially issued for comment through a Federal Register notice
published on December 5, 2003 (68 FR 68042) (FRL-7318-6); a response to
comments; and related documents for creosote. EPA is also soliciting
public comment on risk reduction options for creosote and comments on
the qualitative economic impacts analysis. EPA developed the risk
assessments for creosote as part of its public process for making
pesticide reregistration eligibility and tolerance reassessment
decisions. Through these programs, EPA is ensuring that pesticides meet
current standards under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).
    Creosote, a restricted use pesticide, is a ``heavy duty wood
preservative'' that was first registered in the United States in 1948.
Presently, 13 products are registered as industrial wood preservatives
for above and ground wood protection treatments, as well as wood used
in marine environments. Creosote wood preservatives are used primarily
in the pressure treatment of railroad ties/crossties (about 70%
creosote use), utility poles/cross-arms (about 16% of all creosote
use), and marine piles (> 4% creosote use. Assorted creosote-treated
lumber products (e.g., timbers, poles, posts, and ground-line support
structures) account for the remaining uses of this wood preservative.
EPA issued cancellation orders in August 2004 that accepted the
voluntary use termination request/product cancellation requests to
either amend current label language to delete non-pressure treatment
uses of creosote or to cancel the affected products (September 15,2007;
69 FR 55623; FRL-7682). This action canceled three pesticide
registrations and terminated certain uses of seven pesticide
registrations as of December 31, 2004.
    EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for
interested parties to provide risk management proposals or otherwise
comment on risk management for creosote. Risks of concern associated
with the use of creosote are: Short-term, intermediate-term, and long-
term non-cancer risks; and cancer risks for occupational handlers.
Approximately one third of the dermal non-cancer scenarios indicate
potential risks of concern. The non-cancer inhalation MOEs for
occupational exposure to naphthalene (detected in 100% of the
inhalation exposure samples when applying creosote) range from 23-1,900
with the inhalation MOEs for 16 of the 19 job functions being below the
target MOE of 300. All of the cancer risks exceed the Agency's level of
concern of 1 x 10-6 but only 4 of the scenarios had risks
exceeding 1 x 10-4 (i.e., risks range from 1.6E-3 to 9.5E-
6). In targeting these risks of concern, the Agency solicits
information on effective and practical risk reduction measures.
    EPA is applying the principles of public participation to all
pesticides undergoing reregistration and tolerance reassessment. The
Agency's Pesticide Tolerance Reassessment and Reregistration; Public
Participation Process, published in the Federal Register on May 14,
2004, (69 FR 26819) (FRL-7357-9) explains that in conducting these
programs, EPA is tailoring its public participation process to be
commensurate with the level of risk, extent of use, complexity of
issues, and degree of public concern associated with each pesticide.
Due to its uses, risks, and other factors, creosote is being reviewed
through the full 6-Phase public participation process.
    All comments should be submitted using the methods in ADDRESSES,
and must be received by EPA on or before the closing date. Comments and
proposals will become part of the Agency Docket for creosote. Comments
received after the close of the comment period will be marked ``late''.
EPA is not required to consider these late comments.
    After considering comments received, EPA will develop and issue for
comment the creosote RED.

B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?

    Section 4(g)(2) of FIFRA, as amended, directs that, after
submission of all data concerning a pesticide active ingredient, ``the
Administrator shall determine whether pesticides containing such active
ingredient are eligible for reregistration,'' before calling in product
specific data on individual end-use products and either reregistering

products or taking other ``appropriate regulatory action.''

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests, antimicrobials,
creosote.

    Dated: April 11, 2008.
Betty Shackleford,
Acting Director, Antimicrobials Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-8169 Filed 4-15-08; 8:45 .am.]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-S