[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37610-37611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16232]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0302; FRL-9929-42]


Proposed Antimicrobial Pesticide Use Site Index; Notice of 
Availability and Request for Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the availability of and requesting public 
comment on a proposed guidance document called the Antimicrobial 
Pesticide Use Site Index (USI). The Agency developed this document to 
provide guidance about antimicrobial pesticide use sites and general 
antimicrobial pesticide use patterns. This guidance document is 
intended to assist antimicrobial pesticide applicants and registrants 
by helping them to identify the 40 CFR part 158 subpart W data 
requirements that are necessary to register their product(s), and will 
likewise be used by Agency staff evaluating pesticide applications.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 31, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0302, 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: Steven Weiss, Antimicrobials Division 
(7510P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; main telephone 
number: (703) 308-8293; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    You may be affected by this action if you are a producer of 
pesticide products (NAICS 32532), antifoulants (NAICS 32551), 
antimicrobial pesticides (NAICS 32561), or wood preservatives (NAICS 
32519), importers of such products, or any person or company who seeks 
to register an antimicrobial, antifoulant coating, ballast water 
treatment, or wood preservative pesticide or to obtain a tolerance for 
such a pesticide. The North American Industrial Classification System 
(NAICS) codes have been provided to assist you and others in 
determining whether this action might apply to certain entities. This 
listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide 
for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this action. 
Other types of entities not listed could also be affected.

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

[[Page 37611]]

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.

C. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

    A copy of the proposed guidance document is available in the docket 
under docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0302.

II. What action is the Agency taking?

    The Agency is making available for comment a proposed guidance 
document called the ``Antimicrobial Pesticide Use Site Index.'' In the 
Federal Register on May 8, 2013 (78 FR 26936) (FRL-8886-5), the Agency 
published a final rule amending 40 CFR part 158, the section of the 
regulations setting forth the data requirements that support an 
application to register a pesticide product. The final rule, which is 
codified as 40 CFR part 158 subpart W (158W), contains the data 
requirements specifically applicable to antimicrobial pesticides. The 
rule became effective July 8, 2013.
    The proposed guidance document serves as a compilation of the 
specific use sites that are commonly listed on antimicrobial labels. 
The specific use sites are further organized into categories of twelve 
general use patterns. The general use patterns are broad designations 
and are used as columns in the antimicrobial data requirements tables 
to identify which data requirements might be pertinent to the 
particular pesticide use site. The Agency has developed the proposed 
guidance document to provide additional information about these use 
patterns. This guidance document is intended to assist antimicrobial 
pesticide applicants and registrants by helping them to identify the 
data requirements that are necessary to register their product(s), and 
will likewise be used by Agency staff evaluating antimicrobial 
pesticide applications.
    As a guidance document, the association of a particular 
antimicrobial use site with a general antimicrobial use pattern should 
be viewed as a recommendation only and is not to be construed as 
binding on either EPA or any outside parties. EPA may depart from the 
guidance where circumstances warrant and without prior notice.
    The posting of this proposed guidance document for public comment 
satisfies a condition of the March 2, 2015, settlement agreement 
between EPA and the American Chemistry Council (ACC), which followed 
ACC's July 2013 initiation of a legal challenge to the data 
requirements regulation (subpart 158W of Title 40 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit. Under that settlement agreement, the Agency committed 
to taking comment on this proposed guidance document within 4 months of 
the effective date of the settlement agreement.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136-136y and 21 U.S.C. 346a.

    Dated: June 24, 2015.
Jim Jones,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-16232 Filed 6-30-15; 8:45 am]
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