[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 83 (Tuesday, April 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18283-18284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08678]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0374; FRL-9991-73]
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 application 89668-EUP-3
from MosquitoMate, Inc., requesting an experimental use permit (EUP)
for the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis, strain wAlbB in live male Aedes
aegypti (strain WB1) mosquitoes. EPA 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 May 30, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket Identification
(ID) Number EPA-HQ-OPP-2015-0374, 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
[[Page 18284]]
Pollution Prevention Division (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, EPA 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, 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 pesticide
discussed in this document, compared to the general population.
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 surface acre of water.
Pursuant to 40 CFR 172.11(a), EPA 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: MosquitoMate, Inc.
Pesticide chemical: Wolbachia pipientis, strain wAlbB.
Summary of request: MosquitoMate, Inc. (MosquitoMate) has proposed
to continue to field test a new strain of Wolbachia pipientis (wAlbB)
to determine its efficacy to affect local populations of the Aedes
aegypti mosquito. Under the previously approved EUP that expired on
December 31, 2018, MosquitoMate was authorized to release and monitor
up to 681,600,000 male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, that carry the
pesticidal active ingredient Wolbachia pipientis, strain wAlbB (0.168
ounces/year), at specific sites in California, Florida, and Texas over
a 2-year period. The combined acreage for that EUP was 8,830 for 2017
and 2018, respectively.
MosquitoMate has requested to amend and extend the preceding EUP
for this pesticidal active ingredient for testing in California and
Texas, and to add test sites in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. Specifically, the applicant is requesting a total of 65,100
acres for the 2 year testing period in the following states and
territories: California 36,000 acres (for 2019, no releases in 2020),
Texas (300 acres in 2019 and 800 acres in 2020), Puerto Rico (1,000
acres in 2019 and 6,000 acres in 2020), U.S. Virgin Islands (1,000
acres in 2019 and 20,000 acres in 2020). A combined total of 0.221 oz
(0.061 oz in 2019 and 0.16 oz in 2020) of the pesticide active
ingredient Wolbachia pipientis, strain wAlbB, contained in 447,300,000
male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, strain WB1, are proposed to be released
over the course of the EUP. This end-use product is not proposed for
food use and the EPA has not been petitioned to establish a tolerance
under Section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA),
21 U.S.C. 301 et. seq.
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: April 17, 2019.
Robert McNally,
Director, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2019-08678 Filed 4-29-19; 8:45 am]
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