[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37221-37222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14749]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0744; FRL-9531-7]


Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and 
Approval; Comment Request; Tolerance Petitions for Pesticides on Food/
Feed Crops and New Inert Ingredients

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted an 
Information Collection Request (ICR), Tolerance Petitions for 
Pesticides on Food/Feed Crops and New Inert Ingredients (EPA ICR No. 
0597.11, OMB No. 2070-0024), to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This is a proposed extension of 
the ICR, which is currently approved through July 31, 2013. Public 
comments were previously requested via the Federal Register (77 FR 
69821) on November 21, 2012 during a 60-day comment period. This notice 
allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller 
description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden 
and cost to the public. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor and a 
person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless 
it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

DATES: Additional comments may be submitted on or before July 22, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-
OPP-2012-0744, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via email to [email protected]. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer for EPA.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information 
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Drewes, Field and External 
Affairs Division, 7506P, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (703) 
347-0107; fax number: (703) 308-5884; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Supporting documents which explain in detail the information that 
the EPA will be collecting are available in the public docket for this 
ICR. The docket can be viewed online at http://www.regulations.gov or 
in person at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The telephone number for the 
Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional information about EPA's 
public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Abstract: The use of pesticides to increase crop production often 
results in pesticide residues in or on the crop. To protect the public 
health from unsafe pesticide residues, EPA sets limits on the nature 
and level of residues permitted pursuant to section 408 of the Federal 
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). A pesticide may not be used on 
food or feed crops unless the Agency has established a tolerance 
(maximum residue limit) for the pesticide residues on that crop or 
established an exemption from the requirement to have a tolerance.
    Under the law, EPA is responsible for ensuring that the maximum 
residue levels likely to be found in or on food/feed are safe for human 
consumption through a careful review and evaluation of residue 
chemistry and toxicology data. In addition, EPA must ensure that 
adequate enforcement of the tolerance can be achieved through the 
testing of submitted analytical methods. If the data are adequate for 
EPA to determine that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will 
result from aggregate exposure, the Agency will establish the tolerance 
or grant an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.
    This ICR only applies to the information collection activities 
associated with the submission of a petition for a tolerance action. 
While EPA is authorized to set pesticide tolerances, the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) is responsible for their enforcement. Food or feed 
commodities found to contain pesticide residues in excess of 
established tolerances are considered adulterated, and are subject to 
seizure by FDA, and may result in civil penalties.
    Trade secret or CBI is frequently submitted to EPA in support of a 
tolerance petition because submissions usually include the 
manufacturing process, product formulation, and supporting data. When 
such information is provided to the Agency, the information is 
protected from disclosure under FIFRA section 10. CBI data submitted to 
the EPA is handled strictly in accordance with the provisions of the 
FIFRA Confidential Business Information Security Manual.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this ICR include anyone who files a petition asking EPA to take a 
specific tolerance action. While any entity can file a petition with 
EPA, petitions typically come from those businesses engaged in the 
manufacturing of pesticides and the Interregional Research Project No. 
4 (IR-4). The NAICS codes for the most frequent type of respondent are 
325320 (pesticide and other agricultural chemical manufacturing) and 
541600 (management, scientific, and technical consulting services).

[[Page 37222]]

    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory.
    Estimated number of respondents: 137.
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Total estimated burden: 236,800 hours (per year). Burden is defined 
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $21,280,921 (per year). This is the estimated 
burden cost; there is no cost for capital investment or maintenance and 
operational costs in this information collection.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 58,515 hours in 
the total estimated respondent burden hours compared with the ICR 
currently approved by OMB. This increase reflects EPA's updating of the 
burden estimate to account for an increase in the estimated average 
number of tolerance petitions submitted annually from 103 to 137, which 
resulted in a change to the annual burden hours for respondents from 
178,285 in the previous renewal to 236,800 in the current renewal. This 
change is an adjustment.

John Moses,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2013-14749 Filed 6-19-13; 8:45 am]
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