[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]
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