[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 60847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25713]



[[Page 60847]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0654; FRL-9986-50-OEI]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submitted to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Comment Request; Certification of Pesticide 
Applicators (Renewal)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted the 
following information collection request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA): ``Certification of Pesticide 
Applicators (Renewal)'' and identified by EPA ICR No. 0155.13 and OMB 
Control No. 2070-0029. This is a request to renew the approval of an 
existing ICR, which is currently approved through November 30, 2018. 
EPA did not receive any comments in response to the previously provided 
public review opportunity issued in the Federal Register on April 27, 
2018. With this submission, EPA is providing an additional 30 days for 
public review and comment.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 27, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0654, to: (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method) or by mail to: EPA Docket 
Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460 and (2) OMB via email to 
[email protected]. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer for 
EPA.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
docket without change, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information claimed to 
be Confidential Business Information (CBI), or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be CBI or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryne Yarger, Field and External 
Affairs Division (7506P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 605-1193; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Docket: Supporting documents, including the ICR that explains in 
detail the information collection activities and the related burden and 
cost estimates that are summarized in this document, are available in 
the docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at http://www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, West William 
Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is (202) 
566-1744. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit 
http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    ICR status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on November 
30, 2018. EPA announced its intended renewal of this ICR and provided 
an opportunity for public review and comment in the Federal Register on 
April 27, 2018 (83 FR 18553). Under OMB regulations, the Agency may 
continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this 
submission is pending at OMB.
    Under PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., an agency may not conduct or 
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of 
information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 
The OMB control numbers are displayed either by publication in the 
Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such as on the related 
collection instrument or form, if applicable. The display of OMB 
control numbers for certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR 
part 9.
    Abstract: EPA administers certification programs for pesticide 
applicators under section 11 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and EPA regulations in 40 CFR part 171. FIFRA 
allows EPA to classify a pesticide as ``restricted use'' if the 
pesticide meets certain toxicity or risk criteria. This ICR addresses 
the paperwork activities performed by businesses, individuals and 
regulators to comply with training and certification requirements 
associated with applicators of restricted use pesticides (RUPs). 
Because of the potential of improperly applied RUPs to harm human 
health or the environment, pesticides under this classification may be 
purchased and applied only by ``certified applicators'' or by persons 
under the direct supervision of certified applicators. This ICR 
addresses instances in which registrants of certain pesticide products 
are required to perform specific paperwork activities, such as training 
and recordkeeping, as a condition of the pesticide registration (e.g., 
registrants of pesticide products that assert claims to inactivate 
Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores).
    To become a certified applicator, a person must meet certain 
standards of competency through completion of a certification program 
or test. Authorized agencies administer certified applicator programs 
within their jurisdictions, but each agency's certification plan must 
be approved by EPA before it can be implemented. In areas where no 
authorized agency has jurisdiction, EPA may administer a certification 
program directly.
    This ICR also addresses how registrants of certain pesticide 
products are expected to perform specific, special paperwork 
activities, such as training and recordkeeping, in order to comply with 
the terms and conditions of the pesticide registration (e.g., 
registrants of anthrax-related pesticide products that assert claims to 
inactivate Bacillus anthracis spores). Paperwork activities associated 
with the use of such products are conveyed specifically as a condition 
of the registration.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Pesticide applicators, 
administration of certification programs by States/Tribal lead agencies 
(authorized agencies), individuals or entities engaged in activities 
related to the registration of a pesticide product, and RUP dealers 
(only for EPA administered programs).
    Form Numbers: EPA Form 8500-17 and EPA Form 8500-17-N.
    Respondent's Obligation To Respond: Mandatory (FIFRA sections 3 and 
11).
    Estimated Total Number of Potential Respondents: 444,639 (total).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Burden: 1,379,444 hours (per year). Burden is 
defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b).
    Estimated Total Costs: $53,046, 591 (per year), includes $0 
annualized capital investment or maintenance and operational costs.
    Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 58,661 hours in 
the total estimated respondent burden compared with that identified in 
the ICR currently approved by OMB. This increase reflects an EPA update 
of the number of respondents and the wage rates, and a change in the 
number of entities whose certification programs are directly overseen 
by EPA. The changes are the result of adjustments.

Courtney Kerwin,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 2018-25713 Filed 11-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P