[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5227-5228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01503]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0957; FRL-11675-01-OCSPP]


United States Department of Justice and Parties to Certain 
Litigation; Transfer of Information Potentially Containing Confidential 
Business Information

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This document announces that pesticide-related information 
submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the 
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), including information 
that may have been claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
by the submitter, will be transferred to the U.S. Department of Justice 
(DOJ) and parties to certain litigation. This transfer of data is in 
accordance with the CBI regulations governing the disclosure of 
potential CBI in litigation.

DATES: Access to this information by DOJ and the parties to certain 
litigation is ongoing and expected to continue during the litigation as 
discussed in this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Smith, Registration Division 
(7505M), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 
(202) 566-2659; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document is being provided pursuant to

[[Page 5228]]

40 CFR 2.209(d) to inform affected businesses that EPA, via DOJ, will 
provide certain information to the parties and the Court in the matter 
of Center for Food Safety, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, et al. (Case No. 1:23-cv-1633) (D.D.C.). The information is 
contained in documents that have been submitted to EPA pursuant to 
FIFRA and FFDCA by pesticide registrants or other data-submitters, 
including information that has been claimed to be, or determined to 
potentially contain, CBI. In the pending litigation, petitioners seek 
judicial review of EPA's decision of January 11, 2022, to extend the 
time-limited registrations for GF-3335 Enlist One, an herbicide 
containing the active ingredient 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid choline 
salt (``2,4-D''), and Enlist Duo an herbicide containing the active 
ingredients 2,4-D and glyphosate dimethylammonium salt 
(``glyphosate''), as well as EPA's decision of March 29, 2022, to allow 
use of those herbicides in additional counties.
    The documents are being produced as part of the Administrative 
Record of the decisions at issue and include documents that registrants 
or other data-submitters may have submitted to EPA regarding the Enlist 
One and Enlist Duo pesticide products, and that may be subject to 
various release restrictions under federal law. The information 
includes documents submitted with pesticide registration applications 
and may include CBI as well as scientific studies subject to the 
disclosure restrictions of section 10(g) of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. 136h(d).
    All documents that may be subject to release restrictions under 
federal law are designated as ``Protected Information'' in the 
certified list of record materials and are designated as ``Protected 
Information'' under a Protective Order that the Court entered on 
December 19, 2023. The Protective Order precludes public disclosure of 
any such documents by the parties in this action who have received the 
information from EPA, unless a party successfully obtains a de-
designation as Protected Information of any portion of the 
Administrative Record via the procedure described in paragraph 6 of the 
Protective Order and limits the use of such documents to litigation 
purposes only. Further, paragraph 6(h) of the Protective Order states: 
``At any time, the court may de-designate any portion of the 
administrative record without advanced notice to the parties.'' If 
filed with the Court, such documents would be filed under seal and 
would not be available for public review, unless the information 
contained in the document has been determined to not be subject to 
section 10(g) of FIFRA and all CBI has been redacted.
    At the conclusion of the litigation, the Protective Order requires 
that record material EPA designates as ``Protected Information'' be 
destroyed or returned to EPA.
    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.; 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.

    Dated: January 18, 2024.
Charles Smith,
Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2024-01503 Filed 1-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P