[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 241 (Tuesday, December 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81205-81206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27541]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0612; FRL 10017-99-OGC]
Proposed Settlement Agreement; Biological Evaluations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement; request for public
comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator's October 16, 2017, Directive Promoting Transparency and
Public Participation in Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements,
notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement agreement in the five
consolidated petitions for review in Center for Biological Diversity,
et al. v. EPA (D.C. Cir. Nos. 15-1054, 15-1176, 15-1389, 15-1462 and
16-1351) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia. In 2015 and 2016, the Center for Biological Diversity and
other Petitioners (collectively, ``Petitioners'') filed five petitions
for review of registrations containing five active ingredients:
flupyradifurone, bicyclopyrone, benzovindiflupyr, cuprous iodide, and
haluaxifen-methyl. The five petitions for review alleged that EPA
violated the Endangered Species Act (``ESA'') by failing to consult on
the effects to listed species when registering products containing the
five new active ingredients. The Court consolidated the cases on June
20, 2018. The registrants for each active ingredient other than cuprous
iodide sought and were granted intervention.
EPA, the Petitioners and the Defendant-Intervenors (collectively,
``the Parties'') are proposing to enter into an out-of-court settlement
agreement, which, among other things, calls for the Parties to file a
Joint Motion for Order on Consent requesting that the Court order EPA
to: complete a final effects determination for any use of cuprous
iodide that is approved for sale and distribution by August 13, 2021;
complete final Biological Evaluations for two of the other active
ingredients by September 30, 2025 and the remaining two active
ingredients by September 30, 2027; and initiate consultation with the
National Marine Fisheries Service and/or the Fish and Wildlife Service
(Services) as appropriate based on the outcome of the Biological
Evaluations.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be
received by January 14, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2020- 0612 online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method).
For comments submitted at www.regulations.gov, follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from www.regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA
generally will not consider comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective
comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin S. Koch, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances Law Office (2333A), Office of General Counsel, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington,
DC 20460; telephone: (202) 564-1718; email address: koch.erin@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement
In 2015 and 2016, Petitioners filed five petitions for review in
the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as EPA issued registrations
for five new active ingredients, namely flupyradifurone, bicyclopyrone,
benzovindiflupyr, cuprous iodide, and halauxifen-methyl. The petitions
for review alleged that EPA violated Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA by
failing to consult on the effects to listed species of the five new
active ingredients. The Court consolidated the cases on June 20, 2018.
The registrants for each active ingredient other than cuprous iodide
sought and were granted intervention.
The Parties have been engaged in settlement negotiations to reach
an agreement in this case. The proposed settlement agreement between
the Parties calls for, among other things, the Parties to file a Joint
Motion for Order on Consent requesting that the Court order EPA to: (1)
Complete a final effects determination for any use of cuprous iodide
that is approved for sale and distribution by August 13, 2021; (2)
complete final Biological Evaluations (BEs) for two of the other active
ingredients by September 30, 2025 and the remaining two active
ingredients by September 30, 2027; and (3) initiate consultation as
appropriate based on the outcome of the BEs.
Similar to the settlement agreement in CBD, et al. v. EPA, et al.
(Case No. CV-11-0293-JCS (N.D. Cal.)), this proposed settlement
agreement provides for the possibility of extending these dates if
specific events occur, such as an extension of a comment period.
In addition to the commitments above, the settlement agreement
provides that within three months of issuance of draft BEs or no later
than December of 2024 and 2026, the Parties will meet and discuss
potential interim measures. The settlement agreement also provides that
EPA will maintain a web page that includes the settlement agreement,
associated court orders, and a link to an independent 3rd-party web
page hosted, maintained, and funded by Defendant-Intervenors.
For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication
of this notice, the Agency will accept written comments relating to the
proposed settlement agreement from persons who are not named as parties
to the litigation in question. EPA may withdraw or withhold consent to
the proposed settlement if the comments disclose facts or
considerations that indicate that such consent is inappropriate,
improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with the requirements of the ESA
or the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Unless EPA
determines that consent should be withdrawn, the terms of the proposed
settlement agreement will be affirmed.
[[Page 81206]]
II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement
Agreement
A. How can I get a copy of the proposed settlement agreement?
The official public docket for this action (identified by EPA-HQ-
OGC-2020-0612) contains a copy of the proposed settlement agreement and
proposed order that will be filed with the Joint Motion for Order on
Consent. The EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket Center and
Reading Room for public visitors, with limited exceptions, to reduce
the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff will
continue to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and
webform. We encourage the public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov/ as there may be a delay in processing mail and
faxes. Hand deliveries or couriers will be received by scheduled
appointment only. For further information and updates on EPA Docket
Center services, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.
The electronic version of the public docket for this action
contains a copy of the proposed settlement agreement and proposed order
that will be filed with the Joint Motion for Order on Consent, and is
available through https://www.regulations.gov. You may use
www.regulations.gov to submit or view public comments, access the index
listing of the contents of the official public docket, and access those
documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once
in the system, key in the appropriate docket identification number then
select ``search.'' It is important to note that EPA's policy is that
public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be
made available for public viewing online at www.regulations.gov without
change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information
claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is restricted by
statute is not included in the official public docket or in the
electronic public docket.
EPA's policy is that copyrighted material, including copyrighted
material contained in a public comment, will not be placed in EPA's
electronic public docket but will be available only in printed, paper
form in the official public docket. Please refer to the information
above about the current status of the EPA Docket Center.
B. How and to whom do I submit comments?
You may submit comments as provided in the ADDRESSES section.
Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified
comment period.
If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name, mailing address, and an email address or other
contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD
ROM you submit. This ensures that you can be identified as the
submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA
cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further
information on the substance of your comment. Any identifying or
contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included
as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket,
and made available in EPA's electronic public docket. 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.
Use of the www.regulations.gov website to submit comments to EPA
electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. The
electronic public docket system is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity, email address, or other
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's electronic mail
(email) system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an
email comment directly to the Docket without going through
www.regulations.gov, your email address is automatically captured and
included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public
docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
Joseph E. Cole,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-27541 Filed 12-14-20; 8:45 am]
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