[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 229 (Friday, November 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76071-76072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26184]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0585; FRL-10017-03]


Glyphosate Registration Review; Draft Endangered Species Act 
Biological Evaluations; Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Environmental 
Protection Agency's (EPA or the Agency) draft biological evaluation 
(BE) for the registration review of the pesticide glyphosate and opens 
a public comment period on this document.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 26, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0585, through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at 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. To make special 
arrangements for hand delivery or delivery of boxed information, please 
follow the instructions at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
    Due to the public health concerns related to COVID-19, the EPA 
Docket Center (EPA/DC) and Reading Room is closed to visitors with 
limited exceptions. The staff continues to provide remote customer 
service via email, phone, and webform. For the latest status 
information on EPA/DC services and docket access, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tracy Perry, Pesticide Re-evaluation 
Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 308-0128; 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 a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human 
health, farm worker, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; 
pesticide users; and members of the public interested in the sale, 
distribution, or use of pesticides and/or the potential impacts of 
pesticide use on threatened or endangered (listed) species and 
designated critical habitat. Since others also may be interested, the 
Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may 
be affected by this action. If you have any questions regarding the 
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

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 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 pesticides 
discussed in this document, compared to the general population.

II. What action is the Agency taking?

A. Authority

    The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies, such as 
EPA, to ensure that their actions are not likely to jeopardize the 
continued existence of species listed as threatened or endangered under 
the ESA or destroy or adversely modify the designated critical habitat 
of such species. The final registration review determination of 
reevaluating a pesticide under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) constitutes an EPA ``action'' under the ESA. If 
EPA determines a pesticide may affect a listed species or its 
designated critical habitat, EPA must initiate informal or formal 
consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the 
National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively referred to as the 
Services), as appropriate. EPA initiates formal consultation with the 
Services through the conduct and transmittal of a biological 
evaluations (BE) with its findings.

B. Background

    The schedule for conducting the atrazine and simazine BEs was 
negotiated as part of a partial settlement agreement pursuant to a 
joint stipulation filed on October 18, 2019 and entered by the court on 
October 22, 2019, in Center for Biological Diversity et al. v. EPA et 
al. (N.D. Ca) (3:11-cv-00293). EPA stated in this settlement that it 
would also include the herbicides propazine and glyphosate in this 
group of effects determinations. The Agency has completed a 
comprehensive, nationwide draft BE for the use of glyphosate relative 
to the potential effects on listed species and their designated 
critical habitats.
    The glyphosate BE follows the Revised Method for National Level 
Listed Species Biological Evaluations of Conventional Pesticides (see 
docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0185-0084 at www.regulations.gov). EPA 
utilized the Revised Method for the first time when conducting the 
methomyl and carbaryl draft BEs, which were posted for public comment 
on March 17, 2020 (85 FR 15168). EPA is currently evaluating public 
comments received and will take them into consideration for the final 
BEs for these pesticides. Comments received on carbaryl and methomyl 
that are applicable to the broader BE methodology will also be 
incorporated into the final BE for glyphosate as applicable.
    After reviewing comments received during the public comment period 
on the glyphosate draft BE, EPA will issue a final BE and a response to 
public comments document. If EPA determines that glyphosate may affect 
listed species and/or their designated critical habitats, EPA will 
initiate consultation with the

[[Page 76072]]

Services. Based on the BE, the Services will then develop a Biological 
Opinion for glyphosate.

C. Public Comments Sought

    Pursuant to 40 CFR 155.53(c) and consistent with the enhanced 
stakeholder engagement practices (see docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-
0442), EPA is providing an opportunity, through this notice of 
availability, for interested parties to provide comments and input 
concerning the Agency's draft BE for glyphosate. Such comments could 
address, among other things, the application of the Agency's revised 
risk assessment methodologies to and assumptions for this draft BE.
    The file size of the glyphosate draft BE exceeds the docket 
system's file size limitation, therefore it is not posted to this BE 
docket. Instead, the BE is posted on EPA's endangered species web page 
(see web link provided in the Table below). Commenters are instructed 
to post comments on the BE to this BE docket (EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0585) in 
www.regulations.gov, as indicated in the Table below.

   Table--Pesticide Docket ID Number for Posting Comments on the Glyphosate Draft BE and Link to the Draft BE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Pesticide docket ID No.
               Document                   for public comments                 Link to the draft BE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glyphosate BE........................  EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0585...  https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/draft-national-level-listed-species-biological-evaluation-glyphosate.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. Other related information. Additional information on endangered 
species risk assessment and the National Academy of Sciences report 
recommendations are available at https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/implementing-nas-report-recommendations-risk-assessment-methodology-endangered. Information on the Agency's registration review 
program and its implementing regulation is available at https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-reevaluation.
    2. Information submission requirements. Anyone may submit data or 
information in response to this document. To be considered during a 
pesticide's registration review, the submitted data or information must 
meet the following requirements:
     To ensure that EPA will consider data or information 
submitted, interested persons must submit the data or information 
during the comment period. The Agency may, at its discretion, consider 
data or information submitted later.
     The data or information submitted must be presented in a 
legible and useable form. For example, an English translation must 
accompany any material that is not in English and a written transcript 
must accompany any information submitted as an audio graphic or video 
graphic record. Written material may be submitted in paper or 
electronic form.
     Submitters must clearly identify the source of any 
submitted data or information.
     Submitters may request the Agency to reconsider data or 
information that the Agency rejected in a previous review. However, 
submitters must explain why they believe the Agency should reconsider 
the data or information in the pesticide's registration review.
    As provided in 40 CFR 155.58, the registration review docket for 
each pesticide case will remain publicly accessible through the 
duration of the registration review process; that is, until all actions 
required in the final decision on the registration review case have 
been completed.

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

    Dated: November 18, 2020.
Alexandra Dapolito Dunn,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2020-26184 Filed 11-25-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P