81 FR 47170 - Sulfoxaflor; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, Solicitation of Public Comment

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 139 (July 20, 2016)

EPA has received a specific exemption request from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to use the insecticide sulfoxaflor (CAS No. 946578-00-3) on pecans to control the black pecan aphid. The applicant proposes a use of a pesticide, sulfoxaflor, which is now considered to be unregistered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) because of the vacature of all sulfoxaflor registrations by the United States District Court for the Central District of California. In accordance with 40 CFR 166.24(a)(7), EPA is soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to grant the exemption.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47170-47171]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17162]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0379; FRL-9948-76]


Sulfoxaflor; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, 
Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA has received a specific exemption request from the New 
Mexico Department of Agriculture to use the insecticide sulfoxaflor 
(CAS No. 946578-00-3) on pecans to control the black pecan aphid. The 
applicant proposes a use of a pesticide, sulfoxaflor, which is now 
considered to be unregistered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, 
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) because of the vacature of all sulfoxaflor 
registrations by the United States District Court for the Central 
District of California. In accordance with 40 CFR 166.24(a)(7), EPA is 
soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to 
grant the exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 4, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0379, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit 
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute.
     Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 
20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand 
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html. Additional 
instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along with more 
information about dockets generally, is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Lewis, Registration Division 
(7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; main telephone 
number: (703) 305-7090; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
The following list of North American Industrial Classification System 
(NAICS) codes is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide to help readers determine whether this document applies to them. 
Potentially affected entities may include:
     Crop production (NAICS code 111).
     Animal production (NAICS code 112).
     Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).
     Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or email. 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 preparing and submitting 
your comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.
    3. Environmental justice. EPA seeks to achieve environmental 
justice, the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of any group, 
including minority and/or low income populations, in the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies. To help address potential environmental justice issues, the 
Agency seeks information on any groups or segments of the population 
who, as a result of their location, cultural practices, or other 
factors, may have atypical or disproportionately high and adverse human 
health impacts or environmental effects from exposure to the pesticides 
discussed in this document, compared to the general population.

II. What action is the agency taking?

    Under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the discretion of the EPA 
Administrator, a federal or state agency may be exempted from any 
provision of FIFRA if the EPA Administrator determines that emergency 
conditions exist which require the exemption. The New Mexico Department 
of Agriculture has requested the EPA Administrator to issue a specific 
exemption for the use of sulfoxaflor to be applied to pecan orchards to 
control black pecan aphid. Information in accordance with 40 CFR part 
166 was submitted as part of this request. The applicant's submission, 
which provides an explanation of the emergency situation as well as the 
proposed use pattern, can be found at http://www.regulations.gov in the 
following document ``2016 FIFRA Section 18 Emergency Exemption for Use 
of Closer[supreg] SC Insecticide on Pecans in New Mexico.''
    This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the 
application itself. The regulations governing FIFRA section 18 require 
publication of a notice of receipt of an application for a specific 
exemption proposing a use of a pesticide that has been subject to a 
judicial vacature. Further, this notice provides an opportunity for 
public comment on the application. The Agency, will review and consider 
all comments received during the comment period in determining whether 
to issue the specific emergency exemption requested by the New Mexico 
Department of Agriculture.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.


[[Page 47171]]


    Dated: July 12, 2016.
Daniel J. Rosenblatt,
Acting Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2016-17162 Filed 7-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P