[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 68 (Wednesday, April 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19760-19761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07318]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0035; FRL-10006-36]


Pyridate; Receipt of Applications for Emergency Exemption, 
Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA has received specific exemption requests from the Oregon 
and Washington State Departments of Agriculture, Office of the Indiana 
State Chemist and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural 
Development for the use of pyridate (CAS No. 55512-33-9) for 
postemergence control of herbicide-resistant weeds such as redroot 
pigweed and other broadleaf weeds to treat up to 5,200 acres of mint 
(peppermint and spearmint) in Oregon, 16,000 in Washington, 11,200 
acres in Indiana, and 1,250 acres in Michigan. The applicants propose 
the use of a pesticide that was voluntarily canceled in 2004 and is now 
considered to be unregistered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, 
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This notice is consistent with the 
requirements for an unregistered chemical. EPA is soliciting public 
comment before making the decision whether to grant these exemptions.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 23, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0035, 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: Michael Goodis, Director Registration 
Division (7505P), 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. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
www.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.

[[Page 19761]]

    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 18 of the FIFRA (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the discretion of 
the EPA Administrator, a Federal or State agency may be exempted from 
any provision of FIFRA if the EPA Administrator determines that 
emergency conditions exist which require the exemption. The Oregon 
Department of Agriculture (ODA), Washington State Department of 
Agriculture (WSDA), Office of the Indiana State Chemist (OISC) and the 
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) have 
requested the EPA Administrator to issue specific exemptions for the 
use of pyridate on mint for postemergence control of herbicide-
resistant weeds such as redroot pigweed and other broadleaf weeds.
    Information in accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was submitted as 
part of these requests. The applicants' submissions, which provide an 
explanation of the critical need for the emergency exemptions, as well 
as the proposed use pattern can be found in their section 18 emergency 
exemption application requests at http://www.regulations.gov, under the 
docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0035.
    This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the 
applications themselves. The regulations governing FIFRA section 18 
require publication of a notice of receipt for the specific exemption 
requests submitted by ODA, WSDA, OISC and MDARD because they propose 
the use of pyridate, which was voluntarily canceled in 2004 and is now 
unregistered under the FIFRA.
    A PRIA section 3 application for this chemical and use is currently 
under review. This notice provides an opportunity for public comment on 
these applications. The Agency will review and consider all comments 
received during the comment period in determining whether to issue the 
specific exemptions requested by ODA, WSDA, OISC, and MDARD as well as 
any subsequent specific exemption applications submitted by other state 
lead agencies.

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

    Dated: March 20, 2020.
Michael Goodis,
Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2020-07318 Filed 4-7-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P