[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 83 (Wednesday, April 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24427-24428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09668]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2013-0254; FRL-9909-68]


Amendment of a Pesticide Experimental Use Permit; Notice of 
Receipt of Application; Comment Request

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces EPA's receipt of an application from 
Robert I. Rose, Ph.D., on behalf of James Mains, Ph.D., Mosquito Mate, 
Inc., requesting to amend 89668-EUP-1 experimental use permit (EUP) to 
allow the applicant to add release and monitoring sites in California 
for Aedes albopictus male mosquitoes with Wolbachia pipientis ZAP 
strain bacteria and to extend the permit for the currently approved 
sites. The Agency has determined that the amendment request for the 
permit may be of regional and national significance. Therefore, because 
of the potential significance, and pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby providing notice 
of receipt and is seeking comments on this application.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 30, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number and the EUP File Symbol of interest as shown in the body of 
this document, 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: Robert McNally, Biopesticides and 
Pollution Prevention Division (BPPD), (7511P), Office of Pesticide 
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-7090; 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. Although this 
action may be of particular interest to those persons who conduct or 
sponsor research on pesticides, the Agency has not attempted to 
describe all the specific entities that may be affected by this action.

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 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.
    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 
pesticide(s) discussed in this document, compared to the general 
population.

II. What action is the Agency taking?

    Under section 5 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. 136c, EPA can allow manufacturers to 
field test pesticides under development. Manufacturers are required to 
obtain an EUP before testing new pesticides or new uses of pesticides 
if they conduct experimental field tests on 10 acres or more of land or 
one acre or more of water. Following the review of the application and 
any comments and data received in response to this solicitation, EPA 
will decide whether to issue or deny the amended EUP request, and if 
issued, the conditions under which it is to be conducted. Any issuance 
of an amended EUP will be announced in the Federal Register.
    Therefore, pursuant to 40 CFR 172.11(a), the Agency has determined 
that the following amended EUP

[[Page 24428]]

application may be of regional and national significance, and therefore 
is seeking public comment on the following amended EUP application:
    89668-EUP-1. (Docket ID Number: EPA-HQ-OPP-2013-0254). On July 26, 
2013, EPA approved an application for an experimental use permit (EUP), 
89668-EUP-1. A notice of the issuance of the EUP was published in the 
Federal Register on September 12, 2013 (78 FR 56227) (FRL-9397-7). This 
EUP was approved for the weekly release at specified sites and times 
for male Aedes albopictus mosquitoes with Wolbachia pipientis ZAP 
strain bacteria between July 29, 2013, and July 29, 2016. Releases were 
approved for certain areas of California, Florida, Kentucky, and New 
York in accordance with the EUP. The released Aedes albopictus male 
mosquitoes, infected with Wolbachia pipientis ZAP strain bacteria, are 
expected to mate with their indigenous female counterparts, causing 
conditional sterility, resulting in non-viable eggs. Thus, the mosquito 
population is expected to be substantially reduced using this 
technique. Adult and egg collection data from treated areas will be 
compared to those in an untreated control site to examine for the 
effect of the released product in the indigenous population.
    On November 5, 2013, the applicant requested an amendment to 
Mosquito Mate, Inc., 1122 Oak Hill Dr., Lexington, KY 40505-3322, 
application (89668-EUP-1), to add San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and 
Vector Control District, West Covina, CA. The applicant is requesting 
to add 5379 acres for monitoring, including the six--one acre 
additional CA sites where the mosquitoes will be released, to the 
existing EUP's monitoring areas of 2059 acres. If approved, the total 
treatment and monitoring areas will be 7,438 acres.
    In addition, the applicant requested a time-extension for this EUP 
on the currently approved sites in CA, FL, and KY until October 31, 
2015; and in NY until September 30, 2016. The time-extensions are to 
allow for a full-season of test-trials, so that control efficacy can be 
determined for the full-season of expected mosquito occurrence. 
Additional information on the experimental use permit is available in 
the docket.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 136c.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Experimental use permits.

    Dated: April 21, 2014.
Lois Rossi,
Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2014-09668 Filed 4-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P