[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 174 (Wednesday, September 9, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54257-54258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22714]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 174 and 180

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0032; FRL-9933-26]


Receipt of Several Pesticide Petitions Filed for Residues of 
Pesticide Chemicals in or on Various Commodities

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of filing of petitions and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: This document announces EPA's receipt of several initial 
filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or 
modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or 
on various commodities.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by the Docket 
Identification (ID) Number and the Pesticide Petition Number (PP) 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, Director, 
Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division (BPPD) (7511P), main 
telephone number: (703) 305-7090, email address: [email protected]; 
or Susan Lewis, Director, Registration Division (RD) (7505P), main 
telephone number: (703) 305-7090, email address: [email protected]. 
The mailing address for each contact person is: Office of Pesticide 
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460-0001. As part of the mailing address, include the 
contact person's name, division, and mail code. The division to contact 
is listed at the end of each pesticide petition summary.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
The following list of North American Industrial Classification System 
(NAICS) codes is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide to help readers determine whether this document applies to them. 
Potentially affected entities may include:
    [emsp14]Crop production (NAICS code 111).
    [emsp14]Animal production (NAICS code 112).
    [emsp14]Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).
    [emsp14]Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).
    If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this 
action to a particular entity, consult the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT for the division listed at the end of the 
pesticide petition summary of interest.

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.
    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

[[Page 54258]]

address potential environmental justice issues, EPA 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 pesticides discussed in this 
document, compared to the general population.

II. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is announcing its receipt of several pesticide petitions filed 
under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 
21 U.S.C. 346a, requesting the establishment or modification of 
regulations in 40 CFR part 174 or part 180 for residues of pesticide 
chemicals in or on various food commodities. EPA is taking public 
comment on the requests before responding to the petitioners. EPA is 
not proposing any particular action at this time. EPA has determined 
that the pesticide petitions described in this document contain the 
data or information prescribed in FFDCA section 408(d)(2), 21 U.S.C. 
346a(d)(2); however, EPA has not fully evaluated the sufficiency of the 
submitted data at this time or whether the data support granting of the 
pesticide petitions. After considering the public comments, EPA intends 
to evaluate whether and what action may be warranted. Additional data 
may be needed before EPA can make a final determination on these 
pesticide petitions.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 180.7(f), a summary of each of the petitions 
that are the subject of this document, prepared by the petitioner, is 
included in a docket EPA has created for each rulemaking. The docket 
for each of the petitions is available at http://www.regulations.gov.
    As specified in FFDCA section 408(d)(3), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(3), EPA 
is publishing notice of the petitions so that the public has an 
opportunity to comment on these requests for the establishment or 
modification of regulations for residues of pesticides in or on food 
commodities. Further information on the petitions may be obtained 
through the petition summaries referenced in this unit.

New Tolerances

    1. PP 5E8377. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0558). Interregional Research 
Project Number 4 (IR-4), Rutgers University, 500 College Rd. East, 
Suite 201 W, Princeton, NJ 08540, requests to establish tolerances in 
40 CFR 180.523 for residues of the molluscicide metaldehyde, 2,4,6,8-
tetramethyl-1,3,5,7-tetroxocane, in or on the following raw 
agricultural commodities: Wheat forage at 0.05 parts per million (ppm); 
wheat, grain at 0.05 ppm; wheat, hay at 0.05 ppm; wheat, straw at 0.05 
ppm; beet, garden, roots at 0.05 ppm; beet, garden, tops at 0.08 ppm; 
rutabaga, roots at 0.05 ppm; turnip, roots at 0.05 ppm; turnip greens 
(tops) at 0.08 ppm; and hop, dried cones at 0.05 ppm. A gas 
chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analytical method for 
enforcement has been developed for analyzing residues of metaldehyde in 
food crops, including all of the crops identified above. The limit of 
quantitation (LOQ) for the method is 0.05 ppm. Contact: RD.
    2. PP 5F8368. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0554). Syngenta Crop Protection, 
LLC, P.O. Box 18300, Greensboro, NC 27419, requests to establish 
tolerances in 40 CFR 180.242 for residues of the fungicide 
thiabendazole in or on legume vegetables (succulent or dried), crop 
group 6 at 0.01 ppm; foliage of legume vegetables, crop group 7, except 
pea, field, hay and vines at 0.01 ppm; pea, field, hay at 0.15 ppm; and 
pea, field, vines at 0.03 ppm. There are acceptable analytical methods 
for tolerance enforcement that include four spectrophotofluorometric 
methods for the determination of thiabendazole per se in or on plant 
commodities and one spectrophotofluorometric method (Method D) for 
determining residues of thiabendazole and 5-hydroxythiabendazole in 
milk. Contact: RD.

Amended Tolerances

    1. PP 5F8364. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0382). Arysta LifeScience North 
America Corp., 15401 Weston Pkwy., Suite 150, Cary, NC 27513, requests 
to amend the tolerance in 40 CFR 180.599 for residues of the 
insecticide acequinocyl in or on hop, dried cones from 4.0 ppm to 15.0 
ppm. The analytical method to quantitate residues of acequinocyl and 
acequinocyl-OH in/on fruit crops utilizes high pressure liquid 
chromatography (HPLC) using mass spectrometric (MS/MS) detection. 
Contact: RD.
    2. PP 5F8368. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0554). Syngenta Crop Protection, 
LLC, P.O. Box 18300, Greensboro, NC 27419, requests to amend the 
tolerances in 40 CFR 180.242 for residues of the fungicide 
thiabendazole by removing the tolerances in or on bean, dry, seed at 
0.1 ppm; and soybean at 0.1 ppm. There are acceptable analytical 
methods for tolerance enforcement that include four 
spectrophotofluorometric methods for the determination of thiabendazole 
per se in or on plant commodities and one spectrophotofluorometric 
method (Method D) for determining residues of thiabendazole and 5-
hydroxythiabendazole in milk. Contact: RD.

New Tolerance Exemptions

    1. PP 5F8361. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0488). MacIntosh and Associates, 
Inc., 1203 Hartford Ave., St. Paul, MN 55116-1622 (on behalf of 
AgBiTech Pty Ltd, 8 Rocla Ct., Glenvale, Queensland 4350, Australia), 
requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance 
in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the microbial insecticide Spodoptera 
frugiperda Multiple Nucleopolyhedrovirus--3AP2 in or on food crops. The 
petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because the 
petitioner is requesting an exemption from tolerance. Contact: BPPD.
    2. PP IN-10782. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0524). Spring Trading Co., 10805 
W. Timberwagon Cir., Spring, TX 77380 (on behalf of BASF Corp., 100 
Campus Dr., Florham Park, NJ 07932), requests to establish an exemption 
from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of propanamide, 2-
hydroxy-N, N-dimethyl- (CAS Reg. No. 35123-06-9) when used as an inert 
ingredient (solvent, cosolvent) in pesticide formulations applied to 
growing crops or to raw agricultural commodities after harvest under 40 
CFR 180.910 and applied to animals under 40 CFR 180.930. The petitioner 
believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for 
an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

Amended Tolerance Exemption

    1. PP 5G8375. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0457). J.R. Simplot Co., 5369 W. 
Irving St., Boise, ID 83706, requests to amend an exemption from the 
requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR 174.534 for residues of the plant-
incorporated protectant (PIP) Potato Late Blight Resistance Gene (also 
known as Rpi-vnt1) in or on potato. The petitioner believes no 
analytical method is needed because the petitioner is seeking a 
temporary exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: BPPD.

    Authority:  21 U.S.C. 346a.

    Dated: August 27, 2015.
John E. Leahy, Jr.,
Acting Director, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, 
Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2015-22714 Filed 9-8-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P