[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 214 (Wednesday, November 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65654-65655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26096]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0806; FRL-9918-77]
Pollinator Health Task Force; Notice of Public Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As part of the U.S. Government's efforts to promote the health
of honey bees and other pollinators, the Pollinator Health Task Force
(the Task Force) is soliciting stakeholder input on best management
practices including pesticide risk mitigation, public-private
partnerships, research, education opportunities, pollinator habitat
improvements, and other actions that the Task Force should consider in
developing a Federal strategy to reverse pollinator losses and help
restore populations to healthy levels. EPA and the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host two listening sessions in
order to solicit stakeholder input to the Federal strategy.
DATES: Meetings: The meetings will be held on November 12, 2014, from 1
p.m. to 3 p.m., eastern standard time, and November 17, 2014, from 1
p.m. to 3 p.m., eastern standard time.
Comments: Written comments must be received on or before close of
business November 24, 2014.
Request for accommodations: To request accommodation of a
disability, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATON CONTACT, preferably at least 10 days prior to the
[[Page 65655]]
meeting, to give EPA and USDA as much time as possible to process your
request.
ADDRESSES: Meetings: The November 12, 2014 meeting will be held at EPA,
1 Potomac Yard South, 2777 Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA, in the lobby-
level Conference Center. Individuals attending the November 12, 2014
meeting must bring appropriate identification with them to the meeting.
Identification requirements are available at: http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/csb_page/updates/2014/new-id.html.
The November 17, 2014 meeting will be held at USDA, 4700 River Rd.,
Riverdale, MD 20737.
Webinar: Stakeholders will be able to participate in the listening
sessions via webinar. Instructions for webinar participation will be
made available at http://www2.epa.gov/pollinator-protection prior to
the first listening session.
Comments: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0806, 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: Joseph Nevola, Pesticide Re-Evaluation
Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8037; 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
particular interest to persons who work in agricultural settings or
persons who are concerned about pollinator health. You may be
potentially affected by this action if you belong to any of the
following entities: Agricultural workers and farmers; pesticide
industry and trade associations; beekeepers; environmental, consumer,
and farm worker groups; State, local, and tribal governments; academia;
public health organizations; conservation organizations; and the
public.
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.
II. Background
The Task Force was created by President Barack Obama to develop a
Federal strategy to promote the health of honey bees and other
pollinators. Co-chaired by the USDA and the EPA, the Task Force
includes membership from the Department of State, the Department of
Defense, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, the Department of
Energy, the Department of Education, the Council on Environmental
Quality, the Domestic Policy Council, the General Services
Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, the Delta Regional Authority, the Smithsonian, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Security
Council staff, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of
Science and Technology Policy. The National Pollinator Health Strategy
(the strategy) will include explicit goals, milestones, and metrics to
measure progress. The strategy will include the following components:
1. A pollinator research action plan.
2. A public education plan.
3. Public-private partnerships.
Another critical piece of the strategy will focus on increasing and
improving pollinator habitat. For additional information regarding the
strategy, please see: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/20/presidential-memorandum-creating-federal-strategy-promote-health-honey-b.
The Task Force is particularly interested in hearing about
opportunities for public-private partnerships to augment actions on
research, education, and habitat expansion and improvement. To this
end, and with emphasis on actions of substantial potential impact or
amenability to scaling, the Task Force welcomes information on existing
partnerships and opportunities for new partnerships, accompanied, where
possible, with implementation details and recommendations.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.
Dated: October 28, 2014.
Richard P. Keigwin, Jr.,
Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2014-26096 Filed 11-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P