[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 143 (Tuesday, July 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48793-48794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17533]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0282; FRL-9947-95]


Pesticide Experimental Use Permit; Receipt of Application; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces EPA's receipt of an application (524-
EUP-RNI) from Monsanto Company requesting an experimental use permit 
(EUP) for Bacillus thuringiensis mCry51Aa2 protein and the genetic 
material necessary for its production (vector PV-GHIR508523) in MON 
88702 cotton (OECD Unique Identifier: MON-887[Oslash]2-4). The Agency 
has determined that the permit may be of regional or national 
significance. Therefore, because of the potential significance, EPA is 
seeking comments on this application.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 25, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0282, 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; main 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 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 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 pesticides 
discussed in this document, compared to the general population.

[[Page 48794]]

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 more than 10 acres of land 
or more than one acre of water.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 172.11(a), the Agency has determined that the 
following EUP application may be of regional or national significance, 
and therefore is seeking public comment on the EUP application:
    Submitter: Monsanto Company, 800 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 
63137, (524-EUP-RNI).
    Pesticide Chemical: Bacillus thuringiensis mCry51Aa2 protein and 
the genetic material necessary for its production (vector PV-
GHIR508523) in MON 88702 cotton (OECD Unique Identifier: MON-
887[Oslash]2-4).
    Summary of Request: Monsanto Company is proposing to test MON 
88702, a new plant-incorporated protectant (PIP) technology in cotton, 
alone and in combination with other registered PIPs in cotton to 
generate data and information that is intended to support future PIP 
registration applications (e.g., PIPs with multiple modes of action 
against hemipteran, thysanopteran and/or lepidopteran cotton pests). 
Monsanto Company's proposed experimental program would begin on March 
1, 2017, and continue until February 28, 2019; would take place on 
2,510 acres in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, 
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, 
Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Puerto Rico; 
and would use 8,495.3 grams of active ingredient. Trial protocols will 
concentrate on seed development and increase for future testing, 
nursery observations of traits in various genetic backgrounds, 
phenotypic and agronomic observations, efficacy and yield benefits, and 
product characterization, performance and regulatory studies.
    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 EUP request, and if issued, the conditions under 
which it is to be conducted. Any issuance of an EUP will be announced 
in the Federal Register.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.

    Dated: July 1, 2016.
 Robert McNally,
Director, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2016-17533 Filed 7-25-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P