COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 359/2012

of 25 April 2012

approving the active substance metam, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market, and amending the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC(1), and in particular Article 13(2) and Article 78(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) In accordance with Article 80(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, Council Directive 91/414/EEC(2) is to apply with respect to the procedure and the conditions for approval to active substances for which completeness has been established in accordance with Article 16 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 33/2008 of 17 January 2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Directive 91/414/EEC as regards a regular and an accelerated procedure for the assessment of active substances which were part of the programme of work referred to in Article 8(2) of that Directive but have not been included into its Annex I(3). Metam is an active substance for which completeness has been established in accordance with that Regulation.

(2) Commission Regulations (EC) No 451/2000(4) and (EC) No 1490/2002(5) lay down the detailed rules for the implementation of the second and third stages of the programme of work referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC and establish lists of active substances to be assessed, with a view to their possible inclusion in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC. These lists included metam. By Council Decision 2009/562/EC of 13 July 2009 concerning the non-inclusion of metam in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC and the withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products containing that substance(6) it was decided not to include metam in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC.

(3) Pursuant to Article 6(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC the original notifier (hereinafter ‘the applicant’) submitted a new application requesting the accelerated procedure to be applied, as provided for in Articles 14 to 19 of Regulation (EC) No 33/2008.

(4) The application was submitted to Belgium, which had been designated rapporteur Member State by Regulation (EC) No 1490/2002. The time period for the accelerated procedure was respected. The specification of the active substance and the supported uses are the same as those that were the subject of Decision 2009/562/EC. That application also complies with the remaining substantive and procedural requirements of Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 33/2008.

(5) Belgium evaluated the additional data submitted by the applicant and prepared an additional report. It communicated that report to the European Food Safety Authority (hereinafter ‘the Authority’) and to the Commission on 31 August 2010.

(6) The Authority communicated the additional report to the other Member States and the applicant for comments and forwarded the comments it had received to the Commission. In accordance with Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 33/2008 and at the request of the Commission, the Authority presented its conclusion on metam to the Commission on 8 August 2011(7). The draft assessment report, the additional report and the conclusion of the Authority were reviewed by the Member States and the Commission within the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health and finalised on 9 March 2012 in the format of the Commission review report for metam.

(7) The additional report by the rapporteur Member State and the new conclusions by the Authority concentrate on the concerns that led to the non-inclusion. Those concerns were in particular that it was not possible to demonstrate the acceptability of consumer exposure and lack of data with respect to the behaviour in the environment of the impurity N,N-dimethylthiourea (DMTU).

(8) The new information submitted by the applicant shows that the exposure of consumers may be considered acceptable and the behaviour of DMTU in the environment will not result in unacceptable effects.

(9) Consequently, the additional information provided by the applicant permits to eliminate the specific concerns that led to the non-inclusion.

(10) It has appeared from the various examinations made that plant protection products containing metam may be expected to satisfy, in general, the requirements laid down in Article 5(1)(a) and (b) of Directive 91/414/EEC, in particular as regards the uses which were examined and detailed in the Commission review report. It is therefore appropriate to approve metam in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.

(11) In accordance with Article 13(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 in conjunction with Article 6 thereof and in the light of current scientific and technical knowledge, it is, however, necessary to include certain conditions and restrictions.

(12) Without prejudice to the conclusion that metam should be approved, it is, in particular, appropriate to require further confirmatory information.

(13) A reasonable period should be allowed to elapse before approval in order to permit Member States and the interested parties to prepare themselves to meet the new requirements resulting from the approval.

(14) Without prejudice to the obligations defined by Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 as a consequence of the approval, taking into account the specific situation created by the transition from Directive 91/414/EEC to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 the following should, however, apply. Member States should be allowed a period after approval to review authorisations of plant protection products containing metam which have been maintained for certain uses in accordance with Article 3 of Decision 2009/562/EC. For the calculation of that period that provision is to be taken into account. Member States should, as appropriate, vary, replace or withdraw existing authorisations.

(15) For plant protection products containing metam, where Member States grant any period of grace in accordance with Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, Article 4 of Decision 2009/562/EC should be taken into account for the calculation of that period. Hence, such a period of grace should expire at the latest by 31 December 2014.

(16) The experience gained from inclusions in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC of active substances assessed in the framework of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3600/92 of 11 December 1992 laying down the detailed rules for the implementation of the first stage of the programme of work referred to in Article 8(2) of Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market(8) has shown that difficulties can arise in interpreting the duties of holders of existing authorisations in relation to access to data. In order to avoid further difficulties it therefore appears necessary to clarify the duties of the Member States, especially the duty to verify that the holder of an authorisation demonstrates access to a dossier satisfying the requirements of Annex II to that Directive. However, this clarification does not impose any new obligations on Member States or holders of authorisations compared to the directives which have been adopted until now amending Annex I to that Directive or to the Regulations approving active substances.

(17) In accordance with Article 13(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 of 25 May 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the list of approved active substances(9) should be amended accordingly.

(18) In the interest of clarity, Decision 2009/562/EC should be repealed.

(19) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Approval of active substance

The active substance metam, as specified in Annex I, is approved subject to the conditions laid down in that Annex.

Article 2

Re-evaluation of plant protection products

1. Member States shall in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, where necessary, amend or withdraw existing authorisations for plant protection products containing metam as an active substance by 31 December 2014.

By that date they shall in particular verify that the conditions in Annex I to this Regulation are met, with the exception of those identified in Part B of the column on specific provisions of that Annex, and that the holder of the authorisation has, or has access to, a dossier satisfying the requirements of Annex II to Directive 91/414/EEC in accordance with the conditions of Article 13(1) to (4) of that Directive and Article 62 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, for each authorised plant protection product containing metam as either the only active substance or as one of several active substances, all of which were listed in the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011, by 30 June 2012 Member States shall re-evaluate the product in accordance with the uniform principles, as referred to in Article 29(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, on the basis of a dossier satisfying the requirements of Annex III to Directive 91/414/EEC and taking into account Part B of the column on specific provisions of Annex I to this Regulation. On the basis of that evaluation, they shall determine whether the product satisfies the conditions set out in Article 29(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.

Following that determination Member States shall:

(a) in the case of a product containing metam as the only active substance, where necessary, amend or withdraw the authorisation by 30 June 2016;

(b) in the case of a product containing metam as one of several active substances, where necessary, amend or withdraw the authorisation by 30 June 2016 or by the date fixed for such an amendment or withdrawal in the respective act or acts which added the relevant substance or substances to Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC or approved that substance or substances, whichever is the latest.

Article 3

Grace period

Where Member States withdraw or amend an existing authorisation in accordance with Article 2(1), any grace period granted by Member States in accordance with Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 shall be as short as possible and shall expire by 31 December 2014 at the latest.

Article 4

Amendments to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011

The Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 5

Repeal

Decision 2009/562/EC is repealed.

Article 6

Entry into force and date of application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the

Official Journal of the European Union

It shall apply from 1 July 2012.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 25 April 2012.

For the Commission

The President

José Manuel BARROSO

(1)

OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, p. 1

(2)

OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1

(3)

OJ L 15, 18.1.2008, p. 5

(4)

OJ L 55, 29.2.2000, p. 25

(5)

OJ L 224, 21.8.2002, p. 23

(6)

OJ L 196, 28.7.2009, p. 22

(7)

European Food Safety Authority; Conclusion on the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance metam. EFSA Journal 2011;9(9):2334.[97 pp.] doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2334. Available online: www.efsa.europa.eu/efsajournal.htm

(8)

OJ L 366, 15.12.1992, p. 10

(9)

OJ L 153, 11.6.2011, p. 1

ANNEX I

Common Name, Identification Numbers

IUPAC Name

Purity(1)

Date of approval

Expiration of approval

Specific provisions

Metam

CAS No 144-54-7

CIPAC No 20

Methyldithiocarbamic acid

≥ 965 g/kg

Expressed as metam-sodium on a dry weight basis

≥ 990 g/kg

Expressed as metam-potassium on a dry weight basis

Relevant impurities:

methylisothiocyanate (MITC)

—	max. 12 g/kg on dry weight basis (metam-sodium),

—	max. 0,42 g/kg on dry weight basis (metam-potassium).

N,N’-dimethylthiourea (DMTU)

—	max. 23 g/kg on a dry weight basis (metam-sodium),

—	max. 6 g/kg on a dry weight basis (metam-potassium).

1 July 2012

30 June 2022

PART A

Only uses as nematicide, fungicide, herbicide and insecticide may be authorised for application as soil fumigant prior to planting, limited to one application every third year on the same field.

The application may be authorised in open field by soil injection or drip irrigation, and in greenhouse by drip irrigation only. The use of gas-tight plastic film for drip irrigation shall be prescribed.

The maximum application rate shall be 153 kg/ha (corresponding to 86,3 kg/ha of MITC) in case of open field applications.

Authorisations shall be limited to professional users.

PART B

For the implementation of the uniform principles as referred to in Article 29(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, the conclusions of the review report on metam, and in particular Appendices I and II thereof, as finalised in the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on 9 March 2012, shall be taken into account.

In this overall assessment Member States:

(a)	shall pay particular attention to the protection of operators and shall ensure that the conditions of use include risk mitigation measures such as application of adequate personal protective equipment and a limitation in the daily work rate;

(b)	shall pay particular attention to the protection of workers and shall ensure that the conditions of use include risk mitigation measures, such as use of adequate personal protective equipment, re-entry period and limitation in the daily work rate;

(c)

shall pay particular attention to the protection of bystanders and residents and shall ensure that the conditions of use include risk mitigation measures, such as an appropriate buffer zone during and until 24 hours after the application from the perimeter of the application area to any occupied residences and areas used by the general public with obligation to use warning signs and ground markers;

(d)	shall pay particular attention to the protection of groundwater, when the active substance is applied in regions with vulnerable soil and/or climatic conditions and shall ensure that the conditions of use include risk mitigation measures, such as appropriate buffer zone;

(e)	shall pay particular attention to the risk to non-target organisms and shall ensure that conditions of use shall include risk mitigation measures, where appropriate.

The applicant shall submit confirmatory information on methyl isothiocyanate as regards:

(1)	the assessment of the long-range atmospheric transport potential and related environmental risks;

(2)	the potential groundwater contamination.

The applicant shall submit to the Commission, the Member States and the Authority such information by 31 May 2014.

(1) Further details on identity and specification of active substance are provided in the review report.

ANNEX II

In Part B of the Annex to Implementing Regulation No (EU) 540/2011, the following entry is added: