[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 145 (Friday, July 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44233-44234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18321]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0344; FRL-9355-1]
Clothianidin; Emergency Petition To Suspend; Notice of
Availability
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: PANNA and others submitted a request for the EPA to
immediately suspend Clothianidin and take other actions affecting the
registration. The EPA is announcing the decision to deny the suspension
request and is inviting the public to comment on the decision and the
remainder of the petition.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 25, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0344; FRL-9355-1, 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), Mail Code: 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.htm.
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: Marianne Lewis, Registration Division
(7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone
number: (703) 308-8043; fax number: (703) 308-0029; email address:
[email protected].
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
groups, farmers, beekeepers, State regulatory partners, other
interested Federal agencies; members of the public interested in the
sale, distribution, or use of pesticides; and other pesticide
registrants and pesticide users.
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 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
[[Page 44234]]
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
On March 20, 2012, The Center for Food Safety and International
Center for Technology Assessment submitted to the EPA an ``Emergency
Citizen Petition'' on behalf of 27 individuals and non-governmental
organizations requesting that the EPA suspend registrations for the
insecticide clothianidin for the four following reasons: (1) To cure
clothianidin's unlawful conditional registration; (2) to prevent an
imminent hazard to pollinating insects and the agricultural interests
they support by suspending the registrations and initiating special
review and cancellation proceedings; (3) to stop the sale of misbranded
clothianidin products; and (4) to address Endangered Species Act
consultation obligations for clothianidin. Given the emergency nature
of the request and the harm asserted, the EPA has addressed on an
expedited basis the request to suspend clothianidin registrations to
prevent an imminent hazard. This notice announces the availability of
the EPA's petition response on that issue. The EPA will address the
remaining three issues in the petition after receiving and considering
public comments on the petition. After reviewing the petition and the
supporting documentation, the EPA is denying the request to suspend
clothianidin registrations based on the assertion that an imminent
hazard exists because the petition and supporting documentation
reviewed by the EPA do not demonstrate a substantial likelihood of
imminent, serious harm that would justify the suspension of this
pesticide under the FIFRA standard. The EPA is posting both the
petition (including exhibits and supplemental filings) and its response
to the imminent hazard claim for 60 days for public comment on its Web
site and in the public docket at regulations.gov. After reviewing the
public comments on the petition the EPA will respond to the remaining
issues in the petition. In addition, the EPA will determine in
connection with that review whether the comments received support the
reconsideration of this partial response.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Agricultural commodities, Pesticides and
pest.
Dated: July 17, 2012.
Steven P. Bradbury,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012-18321 Filed 7-26-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P