[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43703-43705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 180

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0244; FRL-9997-94]


Lipochitooligosaccharide (LCO) MOR116; Exemption From the 
Requirement of a Tolerance

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement 
of a tolerance for residues of lipochitooliosaccharide (LCO) MOR116 in 
or on all food commodities when used in accordance with label 
directions and good agricultural practices. Monsanto Company (now known 
as Bayer Crop Science LP), submitted a petition to EPA under the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption 
from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the 
need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of LCO 
MOR116 under FFDCA.

DATES: This regulation is effective August 22, 2019. Objections and 
requests for hearings must be received on or before October 21, 2019, 
and must be filed in accordance with the instructions provided in 40 
CFR part 178 (see also Unit I.C. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION).

[[Page 43704]]


ADDRESSES: The docket for this action, identified by docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0244, is available at http://www.regulations.gov or at the Office of Pesticide Programs Regulatory 
Public Docket (OPP Docket) in the Environmental Protection Agency 
Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 
1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001. The Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OPP 
Docket is (703) 305-5805. Please review the visitor instructions and 
additional information about the docket available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert McNally, Biopesticides and 
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?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
The following list of North American Industrial Classification System 
(NAICS) codes is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide to help readers determine whether this document applies to them. 
Potentially affected entities may include:
     Crop production (NAICS code 111).
     Animal production (NAICS code 112).
     Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).
     Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).

B. How can I get electronic access to other related information?

    You may access a frequently updated electronic version of 40 CFR 
part 180 through the Government Publishing Office's e-CFR site at 
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title40/40tab_02.tpl.

C. How can I file an objection or hearing request?

    Under FFDCA section 408(g), 21 U.S.C. 346a(g), any person may file 
an objection to any aspect of this regulation and may also request a 
hearing on those objections. You must file your objection or request a 
hearing on this regulation in accordance with the instructions provided 
in 40 CFR part 178. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, you must identify 
docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0487 in the subject line on the first 
page of your submission. All objections and requests for a hearing must 
be in writing and must be received by the Hearing Clerk on or before 
October 21, 2019. Addresses for mail and hand delivery of objections 
and hearing requests are provided in 40 CFR 178.25(b).
    In addition to filing an objection or hearing request with the 
Hearing Clerk as described in 40 CFR part 178, please submit a copy of 
the filing (excluding any Confidential Business Information (CBI)) for 
inclusion in the public docket. Information not marked confidential 
pursuant to 40 CFR part 2 may be disclosed publicly by EPA without 
prior notice. Submit the non-CBI copy of your objection or hearing 
request, identified by docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0244, 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 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.

II. Background

    In the Federal Register of July 24, 2018 (83 FR 34968) (FRL-9980-
31), EPA issued a document pursuant to FFDCA section 408(d)(3), 21 
U.S.C. 346a(d)(3), announcing the filing of a pesticide tolerance 
petition (PP 8F8670) by Monsanto Company (now known as Bayer Crop 
Science LP), 800 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167. The petition 
requested that 40 CFR part 180 be amended by establishing an exemption 
from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of LCO MOR116 in or on 
all food commodities. That document referenced a summary of the 
petition prepared by the petitioner, Monsanto Company (now known as 
Bayer Crop Science LP), which is available in the docket via http://www.regulations.gov. There were no comments received in response to the 
notice of filing.

III. Final Rule

A. EPA's Safety Determination

    Section 408(c)(2)(A)(i) of FFDCA allows EPA to establish an 
exemption from the requirement for a tolerance (the legal limit for a 
pesticide chemical residue in or on a food) only if EPA determines that 
the exemption is ``safe.'' Section 408(c)(2)(A)(ii) of FFDCA defines 
``safe'' to mean that ``there is a reasonable certainty that no harm 
will result from aggregate exposure to the pesticide chemical residue, 
including all anticipated dietary exposures and all other exposures for 
which there is reliable information.'' This includes exposure through 
drinking water and in residential settings but does not include 
occupational exposure. Pursuant to FFDCA section 408(c)(2)(B), in 
establishing or maintaining in effect an exemption from the requirement 
of a tolerance, EPA must take into account the factors set forth in 
FFDCA section 408(b)(2)(C), which require EPA to give special 
consideration to exposure of infants and children to the pesticide 
chemical residue in establishing a tolerance or tolerance exemption, 
and to ``ensure that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will 
result to infants and children from aggregate exposure to the pesticide 
chemical residue . . . .'' Additionally, FFDCA section 408(b)(2)(D) 
requires that EPA consider ``available information concerning the 
cumulative effects of [a particular pesticide's] . . . residues and 
other substances that have a common mechanism of toxicity.''
    EPA evaluated the available toxicity and exposure data on LCO 
MOR116 and considered its validity, completeness, and reliability, as 
well as the relationship of this information to human risk. EPA also 
considered available information concerning the variability of the 
sensitivities of major identifiable subgroups of consumers, including 
infants and children.
    LCO MOR116 a synthetically derived member of the 
lipochitooligosaccharide (LCO) chemical class. Naturally occurring LCOs 
function as signaling molecules in the initiation of plant-microbe 
endosymbioses in an estimated 70-80% of land plants. As a biopesticide, 
LCO MOR116 is intended to be used as a plant growth regulator (PGR) to 
increase growth and decrease stress in growing crops. LCO MOR116 has 
low acute toxicity, low subchronic

[[Page 43705]]

toxicity and is not a skin sensitizer or mutagen based on the toxicity 
information presented for the active ingredient and structurally-
similar compounds. Dietary and drinking water exposure to LCO MOR116 is 
not expected for the proposed use as a seed treatment for soybean and 
application rates are expected to be very low (5.89 X 10-11 lb ai/lb 
seed). Although no field trial or residue data are available, 
significant residues are not expected and, therefore, quantitative 
dietary and drinking water assessments were not conducted.
    There are currently no residential uses proposed for LCO MOR116. 
There is a potential for occupational exposure, however, no 
toxicological endpoints have been identified. The Agency has determined 
that no further acute or subchronic toxicity studies are needed at this 
time considering all the available hazard and exposure data on LCOs and 
structurally similar compounds. Based on the available toxicity and 
exposure information, no unreasonable adverse effects to the U.S. 
population in general, and to infants and children in particular, will 
result from the use of LCO MOR116 as a pesticide when label 
instructions are followed.
    An explanation of the data upon which EPA relied and its risk 
assessment based on those data can be found within the (July 30, 2019), 
document entitled ``Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) Safety 
Assessment for Exemption from the Requirement of a Tolerance for 
Residues of Lipochitooligosaccharide (LCO) MOR116.'' This document, as 
well as other relevant information, is available in the docket for this 
action as described under ADDRESSES.
    Based on its safety determination, EPA is establishing an exemption 
from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of LCO MOR116 in or on 
all food commodities when used on accordance with label directions and 
good agricultural practices.

B. Analytical Enforcement Methodology

    An analytical method is not required for enforcement purposes due 
to lack of concern for exposures, which supports the establishment of 
an exemption for residues of LCO MOR116.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This action establishes a tolerance exemption under FFDCA section 
408(d) in response to a petition submitted to EPA. The Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted these types of actions from 
review under Executive Order 12866, entitled ``Regulatory Planning and 
Review'' (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993). Because this action has been 
exempted from review under Executive Order 12866, this action is not 
subject to Executive Order 13211, entitled ``Actions Concerning 
Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or 
Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001), or Executive Order 13045, entitled 
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), nor is it a regulatory action 
under Executive Order 13771, entitled ``Reducing Regulations and 
Controlling Regulatory Costs'' (82 FR 9339, February 3, 2017). This 
action does not contain any information collections subject to OMB 
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq., nor does it require any special considerations under Executive 
Order 12898, entitled ``Federal Actions to Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations'' (59 FR 
7629, February 16, 1994).
    Since tolerances and exemptions that are established on the basis 
of a petition under FFDCA section 408(d), such as the tolerance 
exemption in this action, do not require the issuance of a proposed 
rule, the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply.
    This action directly regulates growers, food processors, food 
handlers, and food retailers, not States or tribes. As a result, this 
action does not alter the relationships or distribution of power and 
responsibilities established by Congress in the preemption provisions 
of FFDCA section 408(n)(4). As such, EPA has determined that this 
action will not have a substantial direct effect on States or tribal 
governments, on the relationship between the national government and 
the States or tribal governments, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government or between the 
Federal Government and Indian tribes. Thus, EPA has determined that 
Executive Order 13132, entitled ``Federalism'' (64 FR 43255, August 10, 
1999), and Executive Order 13175, entitled ``Consultation and 
Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments'' (65 FR 67249, November 9, 
2000), do not apply to this action. In addition, this action does not 
impose any enforceable duty or contain any unfunded mandate as 
described under Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) (2 
U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).
    This action does not involve any technical standards that would 
require EPA's consideration of voluntary consensus standards pursuant 
to section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act (NTTAA) (15 U.S.C. 272 note).

V. Congressional Review Act

    Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), 
EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other required 
information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and 
the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of 
the rule in the Federal Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' 
as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 180

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Agricultural commodities, Pesticides and pests, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: August 7, 2019
Richard Keigwin,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
    Therefore, 40 CFR chapter I is amended as follows:

PART 180--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 180 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 21 U.S.C. 321(q), 346a and 371.


0
2. Add Sec.  180.1370 to subpart D to read as follows:


Sec.  180.1370   Lipochitoolgiosaccharide (LCO) MOR116; exemption from 
the requirement of a tolerance.

    Residues of the plant growth regulator Lipochitoolgiosaccharide 
(LCO) MOR116 in or on all food commodities are exempt from the 
requirement of a tolerance, when used in accordance with label 
directions and good agricultural practices.

[FR Doc. 2019-17994 Filed 8-21-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P