[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 147 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45883-45884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16454]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0306; FRL-10011-30]


Petition To Revoke All Neonicotinoid Tolerances; Notice of 
Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA seeks public comment on a May 4, 2020 petition by the 
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) requesting that the Agency 
revoke all tolerances for residues of the neonicotinoid pesticides 
acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam. 
The petitioners claim that the underlying analysis supporting these 
tolerances are flawed and that proper consideration of available data 
demonstrates that the tolerances are not safe and must be revoked. A 
copy of the petition is available at regulations.gov in docket ID EPA-
HQ-OPP-2020-0306.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 31, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0306, 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.
    Please note that due to the public health emergency the EPA Docket 
Center (EPA/DC) and Reading Room was closed to public visitors on March 
31, 2020. Our EPA/DC staff will continue to provide customer service 
via email, phone, and webform. For further information on EPA/DC 
services, docket contact information and the current status of the EPA/
DC and Reading Room, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Williams, Pesticide Re-
Evaluation Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703)-347-0670; 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 and may be of 
interest to those involved with pesticide manufacture, sale, or use; to 
a member or affiliate of an agricultural trade or interest group, an 
environmental interest group, or a public health interest group; to 
federal, state, or local regulatory partners; or to a member of the 
general public interested in the manufacture, sale, or use of 
pesticides (including neonicotinoids). Given the broad interest, the 
Agency has not attempted to identify or describe all the specific 
entities that may be affected by this action.
    The following list of North American Industry 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 
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 the 
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.

C. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

    A copy of the NRDC's Petition memorandum, RE: Petition to Revoke 
All Neonic Tolerances and Comments Regarding Dietary Exposure, is 
available in the docket under docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-
OPP-2020-0306.

[[Page 45884]]

II. What action is the Agency taking?

    EPA seeks public comment during the next [30] days on a petition 
(available in docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0306) received from the 
NRDC requesting that the Agency revoke all tolerances for residues of 
the neonicotinoid pesticides acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, 
imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam. The petition was submitted under 
section 408(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. 
346a(d). The petitioners claim that the existing tolerances are not 
safe and must be revoked due to several flaws in EPA's analysis of 
neonicotinoid toxicity and exposure when conducting its human health 
risk and drinking water assessments for these pesticides. The 
petitioners claim that EPA failed to use the most sensitive endpoint 
and appropriate uncertainty factors, including the full 10x children's 
safety factor, in not considering the potential for developmental 
effects in children from neonicotinoid exposure and evidence of toxic 
effects at low exposure levels; failed to assess the potential for 
cumulative toxicity from exposure to multiple neonicotinoids; failed to 
assess the aggregate toxicity of neonicotinoids and other chemicals 
resulting from interactions between neonicotinoids and chemicals used 
in drinking water sanitation; and failed to consider risks to highly-
exposed individuals in the acute dietary risk assessment. The 
petitioners therefore contend that the established tolerances are not 
conservative enough to protect the general population, and children, 
from exposure to toxic amounts of neonicotinoids in food.
    EPA's human health and drinking water risk assessments the 
neonicotinoids are contained in the dockets for each of the respective 
registration review cases, listed here:
     Acetamiprid: EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0329.
     Clothianidin: EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0865.
     Dinotefuran: EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0920.
     Imidacloprid: EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0844.
     Thiamethoxam: EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0581.

    Authority: 21 U.S.C. 346a.

    Dated: July 21, 2020.
Mary Reaves,
Acting Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2020-16454 Filed 7-29-20; 8:45 am]
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