[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 41 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14795-14796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04256]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 180

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2024-0059; FRL-11682-01-OCSPP]


Receipt of a Pesticide Petition Filed for Residues of Pesticide 
Chemicals in or on Various Commodities (January 2024)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of filing of petition and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the Agency's receipt of an initial 
filing of a pesticide petition requesting the establishment or 
modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or 
on various commodities.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 1, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2024-0059, through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at https://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. Additional 
instructions on commenting and visiting the docket, along with more 
information about dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madison H. Le, Biopesticides and 
Pollution Prevention Division (BPPD) (7511M), main telephone number: 
(202) 566-1400, email address: [email protected]; or Dan 
Rosenblatt, Registration Division (RD) (7505T), main telephone number: 
(202) 566-2875, email address: [email protected]. The mailing address 
for each contact person is Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001. As part of the mailing address, include the contact person's 
name, division, and mail code. The division to contact is listed at the 
end of each application summary.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
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:
     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 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    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

[[Page 14796]]

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?

    EPA is announcing receipt of a pesticide petition filed under 
section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 
U.S.C. 346a, requesting the establishment or modification of 
regulations in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of pesticide chemicals in 
or on various food commodities. The Agency is taking public comment on 
the request before responding to the petitioner. EPA is not proposing 
any particular action at this time. EPA has determined that the 
pesticide petition described in this document contains data or 
information prescribed in FFDCA section 408(d)(2), 21 U.S.C. 
346a(d)(2); however, EPA has not fully evaluated the sufficiency of the 
submitted data at this time or whether the data supports granting of 
the pesticide petition. After considering the public comments, EPA 
intends to evaluate whether and what action may be warranted. 
Additional data may be needed before EPA can make a final determination 
on this pesticide petition.
    Pursuant to 40 CFR 180.7(f), a summary of the petition that is the 
subject of this document, prepared by the petitioner, is included in a 
docket EPA has created for this rulemaking. The docket for this 
petition is available at https://www.regulations.gov.
    As specified in FFDCA section 408(d)(3), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(3), EPA 
is publishing notice of the petition so that the public has an 
opportunity to comment on this request for the establishment or 
modification of regulations for residues of pesticides in or on food 
commodities. Further information on the petition may be obtained 
through the petition summary referenced in this unit.

A. Amended Tolerances for Non-Inerts

    PP 2E9044. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0079). Interregional Research Project 
#4 (IR-4), North Carolina State University, 1730 Varsity Drive, Venture 
IV, Suite 210, Raleigh, NC 27606, requests, pursuant to section 408(d) 
of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 346a(d), to amend 40 CFR part 180 by 
withdrawing the existing tolerances for residues of the indoxacarb in 
or on the raw agricultural commodities: Bean, dry seed; bean, 
succulent; corn, field, grain; corn, pop, grain; corn, sweet, kernel 
plus cob with husk removed; cotton, undelinted seed; fruit, pome, 
except pear, group 11; fruit, stone, group 12; okra; pea, southern, 
seed; pear, oriental; turnip, greens; vegetable, brassica, leafy, group 
5; vegetable, fruiting, group 8; and vegetable, leafy, except brassica, 
group 4. Contact: RD.

B. New Tolerance Exemptions for Non-Inerts (Except PIPS)

    PP 3F9074. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0650). Indigo Ag, Inc., 500 Rutherford 
Ave., Charlestown, MA 02129, requests to establish an exemption from 
the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the 
fungicide Trichoderma hamatum strain SYM37537 in or on all food 
commodities. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed 
because this petition requests an exemption from the requirement of a 
tolerance without numerical limitations. Contact: BPPD.

C. Tolerance Exemptions for PIPS

    PP 3F9098. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2024-0052). J.R. Simplot Company, 5369 W 
Irving St., Boise, ID 83706, requests to extend a temporary exemption 
from the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR part 174 for residues of 
the plant-incorporated protectants (PIP) BLB2 and AMR3 proteins in or 
on potatoes. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed 
because the protein concentrations of BLB2 and AMR3 proteins are below 
the limit of detection. Contact: BPPD.

D. New Tolerances for Non-Inerts

    PP 2E9044. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0079). Interregional Research Project 
#4 (IR-4), North Carolina State University, 1730 Varsity Drive, Venture 
IV, Suite 210, Raleigh, NC 27606, requests, pursuant to section 408(d) 
of the FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 346a(d), to amend 40 CFR part 180 by 
establishing tolerances for residues of indoxacarb in or on the raw 
agricultural commodities: Brassica, leafy greens, subgroup 4-16B at 12 
parts per million (ppm); celtuce at 14 ppm; chickpea, dry seed at 0.2 
ppm; coffee, green bean at 0.03 ppm; cottonseed subgroup 20C at 2 ppm; 
fennel, florence, fresh leaves and stalk at 14 ppm; field corn subgroup 
15-22C at 0.02 ppm; fruit, pome, group 11-10, except pear at 1 ppm; 
fruit, stone, group 12-12 at 1 ppm; kohlrabi at 12 ppm; leaf petiole 
vegetable subgroup 22B at 14 ppm; leafy greens subgroup 4-16A at 14 
ppm; pear, asian at 0.2 ppm; strawberry at 4 ppm; sunflower subgroup 
20B at 1.5 ppm; sweet corn subgroup 15-22D at 0.02 ppm; vegetable, 
brassica, head and stem, group 5-16 at 12 ppm; vegetable, legume, bean, 
edible podded, subgroup 6-22A at 0.9 ppm; vegetable, legume, bean, 
succulent shelled, subgroup 6-22C at 0.9 ppm; vegetable, legume, bean, 
dried shelled, except soybean, subgroup 6-22E at 0.2 ppm; and 
vegetable, fruiting, group 8-10 at 0.5 ppm. Adequate analytical methods 
for determining indoxacarb in/on appropriate raw agricultural 
commodities and processed commodities have been developed and 
validated. Contact: RD.

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

    Dated: February 18, 2024.
Delores Barber,
Director, Information Technology and Resources Management Division, 
Office of Program Support.
[FR Doc. 2024-04256 Filed 2-28-24; 8:45 am]
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