[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 216 (Friday, November 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71071-71072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24680]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0514; FRL-10015-77]
Atrazine, Simazine, and Propazine Registration Review; Draft
Endangered Species Act Biological Evaluations; Notice of Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA or the Agency) draft biological evaluations
(BEs) for the registration review of the pesticides atrazine, simazine,
and propazine, and opens a public comment period on these documents.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 5, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0514, through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at 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.
Please note that due to the public health concerns related to
COVID-19, the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) and Reading Room is closed to
visitors with limited exceptions. The staff continues to provide remote
customer service via email, phone, and webform. For the latest status
information on EPA/DC services and docket access, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tracy Perry, Pesticide Re-Evaluation
Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0128; email address:
perry.tracy@epa.gov.
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, farm worker, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry;
pesticide users; and members of the public interested in the sale,
distribution, or use of pesticides and/or the potential impacts of
pesticide use on threatened or endangered (listed) species and
designated critical habitat. 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 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?
A. Authority
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies, such as
EPA, to ensure that their actions are not likely to jeopardize the
continued existence of species listed as threatened or endangered under
the ESA or destroy or adversely modify the designated critical habitat
of such species. The final registration review determination of
reevaluating a pesticide under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) constitutes an EPA ``action'' under the ESA. If
EPA determines a pesticide may affect a listed species or its
designated critical habitat, EPA must initiate informal or formal
consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the
National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively referred to as the
Services), as appropriate. EPA initiates formal consultation with the
Services through the conduct and transmittal of a biological
evaluations (BE) with its findings.
B. Background
The Agency has completed comprehensive, nationwide draft BEs for
atrazine, simazine, and propazine uses relative to the potential
effects on listed species and their designated critical habitats. The
schedule for conducting the atrazine and simazine BEs was negotiated as
part of a partial settlement agreement pursuant to a joint stipulation
filed on October 18, 2019 and entered by the court on October 22,
[[Page 71072]]
2019, in Center for Biological Diversity et al. v. EPA et al. (N.D. Ca)
(3:11-cv-00293).
The atrazine, simazine and propazine BEs follow the Revised Method
for National Level Listed Species Biological Evaluations of
Conventional Pesticides (see docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0185-0084
at www.regulations.gov). EPA utilized the Revised Method for the first
time when conducting the methomyl and carbaryl draft BEs, for which the
Agency solicited public comment for a total of 120 days. EPA is
currently evaluating public comments received and will take them into
consideration for the final BEs for these pesticides. Comments received
on carbaryl and methomyl that are applicable to the broader BE
methodology will also be incorporated into the final BEs for atrazine,
simazine, and propazine.
After reviewing comments received during the public comment period
on the atrazine, simazine, and propazine draft BEs, EPA will issue
final BEs and a response to public comments document. If EPA determines
that these pesticides may affect listed species and/or their designated
critical habitats, EPA will initiate consultation with the Services.
Based on the BEs, the Services will then develop Biological Opinions
for atrazine, simazine, and propazine.
C. Public Comments Sought
Pursuant to 40 CFR 155.53(c) and consistent with the enhanced
stakeholder engagement practices (see docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-
0442), EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice of
availability, for interested parties to provide comments and input
concerning the Agency's draft BEs for atrazine, simazine, and
propazine. Such comments could address, among other things, the
application of the Agency's revised risk assessment methodologies to
and assumptions for these draft BEs.
The file sizes of the draft BEs for atrazine, simazine, and
propazine exceed the docket system's file size limitation, therefore
these documents are not posted to this BE docket. Instead, the BEs are
posted on EPA's endangered species web page (see web links provided in
the Table below). Commenters are instructed to post comments on the BEs
to this BE docket (EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0514) in www.regulations.gov, as
indicated in the Table below.
Table--Pesticide Docket ID Numbers for Posting Comments on the Atrazine, Simazine, and Propazine Draft BEs and
Links to the Draft BEs
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Pesticide docket ID No.
Document for public comments Links to the draft BEs
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Atrazine BE.......................... EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0514... https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/draft-national-level-listed-species-biological-evaluation-atrazine.
Simazine BE.......................... EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0514... https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/draft-national-level-listed-species-biological-evaluation-simazine.
Propazine BE......................... EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0514... https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/draft-national-level-listed-species-biological-evaluation-propazine.
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1. Other related information. Additional information on endangered
species risk assessment and the NAS report recommendations are
available at https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/implementing-nas-report-recommendations-ecological-risk-assessment-endangered-and.
Information on the Agency's registration review program and its
implementing regulation is available at https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-reevaluation.
2. Information submission requirements. Anyone may submit data or
information in response to this document. To be considered during a
pesticide's registration review, the submitted data or information must
meet the following requirements:
To ensure that EPA will consider data or information
submitted, interested persons must submit the data or information
during the comment period. The Agency may, at its discretion, consider
data or information submitted at a later date.
The data or information submitted must be presented in a
legible and useable form. For example, an English translation must
accompany any material that is not in English and a written transcript
must accompany any information submitted as an audio-graphic or video-
graphic record. Written material may be submitted in paper or
electronic form.
Submitters must clearly identify the source of any
submitted data or information.
Submitters may request the Agency to reconsider data or
information that the Agency rejected in a previous review. However,
submitters must explain why they believe the Agency should reconsider
the data or information in the pesticide's registration review.
As provided in 40 CFR 155.58, the registration review docket for
each pesticide case will remain publicly accessible through the
duration of the registration review process; that is, until all actions
required in the final decision on the registration review case have
been completed.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.
Dated: November 2, 2020.
Alexandra Dapolito Dunn,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2020-24680 Filed 11-5-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P