[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 66260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27780]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0805; FRL-9987-54]


Pesticides; Petition Seeking Rulemaking or a Formal Agency 
Interpretation for Planted Seeds Treated With Systemic Insecticides; 
Request for Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA is seeking public comment on a petition from the Center 
for Food Safety (CSF) requesting that the Agency either initiate a 
rulemaking or issue a formal Agency interpretation for planted seeds 
treated with systemic insecticides. CSF believes that the Agency has 
improperly applied the treated article exemption in exempting these 
products from registration and labeling requirements under the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 26, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0805, 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: Connie Hernandez, Field and External 
Affairs Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 305-5190; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including pesticide 
registrants, environmental, human health, and agricultural advocates, 
pesticide users, and members of the public interested in the use of 
pesticides. This listing is not intended to be exhaustive but rather 
provides a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected 
by his action. Because others may also be interested, the Agency has 
not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be 
affected by this action. If you have any questions regarding the 
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

II. What action is the agency taking?

    EPA requests public comment on a petition received from CFS that 
asks EPA to take the following actions:
    1. Amend or formally reinterpret the Treated Article Exemption in 
40 CFR 152.25(a) to clarify whether the exemption applies to seeds 
treated with systemic insecticides intended to kill pests of the 
plants.
    2. Enforce FIFRA's registration and labeling requirements for seed 
products coated with systemic pesticides.
    A copy of the petition is available in the docket.

III. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    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.
    When preparing and submitting your comments, see the commenting 
tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

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

    Dated: December 11, 2018,
Richard Keigwin,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2018-27780 Filed 12-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P