[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 47947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19665]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0274; FRL-9998-73]


Pesticide Experimental Use Permit; Receipt of Application; 
Comment Request (93167-EUP-E)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces EPA's receipt of an application from 
Oxitec, Ltd. requesting an experimental use permit (EUP) for the OX5034 
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes expressing tetracycline Trans-Activator 
Variant (tTAV-OX5034) protein (identified by number 93167-EUP-E). The 
Agency has determined that the permit may be of regional and national 
significance. Therefore, because of the potential significance, EPA is 
seeking comments on this application.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 11, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0274, 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 (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 
pesticide(s) 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 10 acres or more of land or 
one acre or more of water.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 172.11(a), the Agency has determined that the 
following EUP application may be of regional and national significance, 
and therefore is seeking public comment on the EUP application:
    Submitter: Oxitec, Ltd., (93167-EUP-E).
    Pesticide Chemical: OX5034 Aedes aegypti mosquitoes expressing 
tetracycline Trans-Activator Variant (tTAV-OX5034) protein.
    Summary of Request: Oxitec Ltd. is proposing to test OX5034 Aedes 
aegypti mosquitoes expressing tTAV-OX5034 protein in the states of 
Florida and Texas on up to 6600 total acres at a maximum rate of 
0.000056 g active ingredient (tTAV-OX5034), equivalent to 20,000 male 
OX5034 mosquitoes, per acre per week. The proposed experiments are to 
evaluate the efficacy of OX5034 mosquitoes as a tool for suppression of 
wild Aedes aegypti mosquito populations. Female offspring of the OX5034 
mosquitoes in the environment are expected to die before they mature 
into adults and therefore exposure to biting female mosquitoes is not 
anticipated.
    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: September 5, 2019.
Alexandra Dapolito Dunn,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2019-19665 Filed 9-10-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P