[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71628-71629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25539]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0509; FRL-7661-01-OCSPP]


Notice of Approval Status; Certifying Authorities' Amended Plans 
for Certification of Commercial and Private Applicators of Restricted 
Use Pesticides; Batch One

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing its 
approval of thirteen amended certification plans for certifying 
applicators of Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs) from the following 
certifying authorities: Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation 
(ADEC); California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR); Nebraska 
Department of Agriculture (NDA); New York Department of Environmental 
Conservation (NYSDEC); Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA); Puerto 
Rico Department of Agriculture (PRDA); U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant, Protection and 
Quarantine (USDA APHIS PPQ); U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 
Service (USDA FS); U.S. Department of Defense (DoD); U.S. Department of 
Energy (DoE); U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
Management (DOI BLM); Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets 
(VAAFM); and Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural 
Resources (VIDPNR). The amended plans are consistent with the existing 
regulatory requirements, including revisions made in 2017 to enhance 
and improve the competency of certified applicators of RUPs and persons 
working under their direct supervision. The 2017 regulatory revisions 
are intended to further reduce potential exposure of RUPs to certified 
applicators and those working under their direct supervision, other 
workers, the public, and the environment. Federal, state, territory, 
and tribal certifying authorities with existing certification plans are 
required to revise their existing plans to conform with the updated 
federal standards for RUP applicator certification.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    For technical information contact: The designated EPA point of 
contact for the Certification Plan of interest as listed in Table 1 of 
Unit I.B.
    For general information contact: Carolyn Schroeder, Pesticide Re-
Evaluation Division (7508M), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 566-2376; 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 a 
federal, state, territory, or tribal agency who administers a 
certification program for pesticides applicators. You many also be 
potentially affected by this action if you are: A registrant of RUP 
products; a person who applies RUPs, including those under the direct 
supervision of a certified applicator; a person who relies upon the 
availability of RUPs; someone who hires a certified applicator to apply 
an RUP; a pesticide safety educator; or other person who provides 
pesticide safety training for pesticide applicator certification or 
recertification. 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:
     Agricultural Establishments (Crop Production) (NAICS code 
111).
     Nursery and Tree Production (NAICS code 111421).

[[Page 71629]]

     Agricultural Pest Control and Pesticide Handling on Farms 
(NAICS code 115112).
     Crop Advisors (NAICS codes 115112, 541690, 541712).
     Agricultural (Animal) Pest Control (Livestock Spraying) 
(NAICS code 115210).
     Forestry Pest Control (NAICS code 115310).
     Wood Preservation Pest Control (NAICS code 321114).
     Pesticide Registrants (NAICS code 325320).
     Pesticide Dealers (NAICS codes 424690, 424910, 444220).
     Industrial, Institutional, Structural & Health Related 
Pest Control (NAICS code 561710).
     Ornamental & Turf, Rights-of-Way Pest Control (NAICS code 
561730).
     Environmental Protection Program Administrators (NAICS 
code 924110).
     Governmental Pest Control Programs (NAICS code 926140).
    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. How can I get copies of these documents and other related 
information?

    For assistance in locating documents related to the approved plans 
identified in this notice, please consult the designated EPA point of 
contact for the Certification Plan of interest as listed in Table 1 of 
this unit, or the general contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

                      Table 1--Designated EPA Point of Contacts for the Certification Plans
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                                                          EPA point of
           EPA region              Certification plan        contact           POC phone             Email
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Region 1........................  VAAFM..............  Robert Koethe.....     (617) 918-1535  [email protected].
Region 2........................  NYSDEC.............  Tara Glynn........     (732) 906-6183  [email protected]
                                                                                               .
                                  PRDA...............
                                  VIDPNR.............
Region 7........................  NDA................  Shawn Hackett.....     (913) 551-7774  [email protected].
Region 9........................  DPR................  Katy Wilcoxen.....     (415) 947-4205  [email protected].
Region 10.......................  ADEC...............  Bethany Plewe.....     (208) 378-5753  [email protected].
                                  ODA................
Office of Pesticide Programs....  USDA APHIS PPQ.....  Jeanne Kasai......     (202) 566-2388  [email protected].
                                  USDA FS............
                                  DoD................
                                  DoE................
                                  DOI BLM............
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II. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?

    Section 11 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act 
(FIFRA), 7. U.S.C. 136 et seq., requires certifying authorities to have 
an EPA-approved certification plan to certify applicators of RUPs. The 
Certification of Pesticide Applicators (CPA) regulation at 40 CFR part 
171 was amended in 2017 (Ref. 1). As a result, federal, state, 
territory, and tribal certifying authorities with existing 
certification plans were required to revise their existing 
certification plans to conform with the updated federal standards for 
the certification of applicators of RUPs and submit their revisions to 
EPA by March 2020 for EPA review and approval. The CPA regulation 
specifies that the existing certification plans remain in place until 
the revised plans are approved by EPA on or before the regulatory 
deadline established in 40 CFR 171.5. The Agency has since issued a 
final rule extending the original deadline for certification plans to 
comply with the updated federal standards under the 2017 CPA rule. 
State, territory, tribal, and federal authorities can now continue 
existing applicator certification programs to November 4, 2023 (Ref. 
2).

III. What action is the Agency taking?

    This action gives notice that the following thirteen certifying 
authorities' certification plans submitted to the Agency meet or exceed 
the standards of 40 CFR part 171: ADEC, DPR, NDA, NYSDEC, ODA, PRDA, 
USDA APHIS PPQ, USDA FS, DoD, DoE, DOI BLM, VAAFM and VIDPNR. EPA 
hereby gives notice that the thirteen amended certification plans for 
certifying applicators of RUPs listed in this document are now approved 
plans; the certifying authorities may certify pesticide applicators and 
continue with implementation of the certification plans as outlined in 
the approved plans.
    These thirteen plans represent the first in a series of batched 
notifications announcing the approval of the federal, state, territory, 
and tribal certification plans moving through the approval process. 
These batched notifications will continue to occur on a regular basis 
as plans are approved. EPA also provides frequent status updates on its 
website at https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/certification-standards-pesticide-applicators.

III. References

    The following is a list of documents that are related to the 
issuance of this Notice. For assistance in locating these other 
documents, please consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

1. EPA. Pesticides; Certification of Pesticide Applicators; Final 
Rule. Federal Register. 82 FR 952, January 4, 2017 (FRL-9956-70).
2. EPA. EPA. Pesticides; Certification of Pesticide Applicators; 
Further Extension to Expiration Date of Certification Plans; Final 
Rule. Federal Register. 87 FR 50953, August 19, 2022 (FRL-9134.1-04-
OCSPP).

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136-136y.

    Dated: November 15, 2022.
Mary Elissa Reaves,
Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2022-25539 Filed 11-22-22; 8:45 am]
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