[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12929-12930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04155]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0260; FRL-8118-02-OCSPP]
RIN 2070-ZA22


Pesticides; Final Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on the Lists 
of Pests of Significant Public Health Importance (Pesticide 
Registration Notice 2023-1)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
availability of a final Pesticide Registration Notice (PR Notice) 
entitled, ``Lists of Pests of Significant Public Health Importance'' 
and identified as PR Notice 2023-1. PR Notices are issued by the Office 
of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to inform pesticide registrants and other 
interested persons about important policies, procedures, and 
registration related decisions, and serve to provide guidance to 
pesticide registrants and OPP personnel. This PR Notice updates and 
replaces the PR Notice 2002-1, which identifies pests of significant 
public health importance. The Health and Human Services (HHS), United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) determined that updating the lists to reflect 
the current public health situation were warranted because vector-borne 
diseases and related research has changed significantly since the 
original PR Notice was published almost 20 years ago. This update 
includes the addition or removal of pests, new impacts, renaming pests, 
or grouping pests of similar species.

DATES: PR Notice 2023-1 is effective March 31, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Susan Jennings, Immediate Office 
(7501M), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 
(706) 355-8574; 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, however, it may 
be of particular interest to those persons who are or may be required 
to conduct testing of chemical substances under the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), or Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Since other entities may also 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 is the Agency's authority for taking this action?

    We are taking this action under FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq. FIFRA 
section 28(d) charges EPA with identifying ``pests of significant 
public health importance.'' FIFRA section 2(t) defines the term 
``pest'' as meaning (1) any insect, rodent, nematode, fungus, weed, or 
(2) any other form of terrestrial or aquatic plant or animal life or 
virus, bacteria, or other micro-organism (except viruses, bacteria, or 
other micro-organism on or in living man or other living animals) which 
the Administrator declares to be a pest under FIFRA section 25(c)(1). 
EPA previously exercised FIFRA section 25(c)(1) authority to make pest 
declarations, by amending the regulatory definition of ``pest'' at 40 
CFR 152.5. The intended changes to the lists of pests of significant 
public health importance are within the statutory and regulatory 
definitions.

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

    The docket for this action, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0260, is available through https://www.regulations.gov. Additional instructions on visiting the docket, 
along with more information about dockets generally, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

II. What guidance does this PR Notice provide?

    This final PR Notice 2023-1 updates and replaces PR Notice 2002-1, 
which identifies pests of significant public health importance. The 
lists were first published in 2002, fulfilling the requirement of FIFRA 
section 28(d) to identify pests of significant public health importance 
(see the original lists: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-04/documents/pr2002-1.pdf). EPA, HHS and USDA believe that pests, 
diseases, and control techniques have changed since 2002. The lists 
provide an interagency baseline for the federal government and the 
public to begin any discussions on government regulation and control of 
disease or vectors of

[[Page 12930]]

disease agents. EPA uses the lists of pests of significant public 
health importance to develop and implement programs to improve and 
facilitate the safe and necessary use of chemical, biological and other 
methods to control pests of public health importance. When a pest is 
added to these lists, it reflects a determination that the pest is a 
pest of significant public health importance and the lists serve as a 
public reference to that effect. The publication of the updated lists 
does not affect the regulatory status of any registration or 
application for registration of any specific pesticide product, 
therefore, registrants do not need to take any action.
    EPA announced the availability and sought public comments on a 
draft PR Notice (85 FR 70146, November 4, 2020 (FRL-10010-13)). EPA 
received 9 unique public comments that are discussed in a Response to 
Comments document, along with the Agency's responses. The Response to 
Comments document is available in the docket and is briefly summarized 
here. The comments covered a range of topics including general comments 
on the lists geographic scope or level of detail, whether there could 
be a regulatory impact from the lists (none is anticipated), or if 
products exempt from registration could be impacted. More specific 
comments were also submitted on the content of the lists, such as 
requests to add or remove species, formatting considerations, and the 
public health impacts of specific pests.
    After considering the public comments, EPA is finalizing the PR 
Notice with the following modifications: Minor adjustments to the 
introductory language; adding several pests (especially in the 
vertebrate list); clarifying several of the public health impacts; and 
combining rows where pests or the public health impacts could be 
combined.

III. Do PR Notices impose binding requirements?

    The PR Notice discussed in this document is intended to provide 
guidance to EPA personnel and decisionmakers and to pesticide 
registrants. While the requirements in the statutes and Agency 
regulations are binding on EPA and pesticide registrants, the PR Notice 
does not impose new binding requirements on either EPA or pesticide 
registrants, and EPA may depart from the guidance presented in the PR 
Notice where circumstances warrant and without prior notice. Likewise, 
pesticide registrants may assert that the guidance is not appropriate 
generally or not applicable to a specific pesticide or situation.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Additional information about these statutes and Executive Orders 
can be found at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders.

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    This action is not a regulatory action under Executive Order 12866 
(58 FR 51735; October 4, 1993) and was therefore not submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under Executive Orders 
12866 and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011).

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

    This guidance does not create any paperwork burdens that require 
additional approval by OMB under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The 
information collection activities associated with pesticide 
registration are already approved by OMB under OMB Control No. 2070-
0060, entitled ``Application for New and Amended Pesticide 
Registration'' (EPA ICR No. 0277.24).
    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.

    Dated: February 23, 2023.
Michal Freedhoff,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2023-04155 Filed 2-28-23; 8:45 am]
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