Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 160 / Friday, August 17, 2012 / Notices 49793 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: To make special 

arrangements for hand delivery or 

delivery of boxed information, please 

follow the instructions at http:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.htm. 

Additional instructions on commenting 

or visiting the docket, along with more 

information about dockets generally, is 

available at http://www.epa.gov/ 

dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard P. Keigwin, Jr., Pesticide Reevaluation Division (7510P), Office of 

Pesticide Programs, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001; 

telephone number: (703) 308–8000; fax 

number: (703) 308–8005; email address: 

keigwin.richard@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. What action is the Agency taking? 

EPA is taking public comment on a 

document entitled, ‘‘Proposal for 

Enhancing Stakeholder Input in the 

Pesticide Registration Review and ESA 

Consultation Processes and 

Development of Economically and 

Technologically Feasible Reasonable 

and Prudent Alternatives,’’ a copy of 

which is available in the docket at 

http://www.regulations.gov under 

docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012– 

0442. The document describes proposed 

changes to EPA’s pesticide registration 

review program and how it conducts 

consultation with the Services under 

Section 7 of the ESA. 

II. Why is the Agency taking this 

action? 

In an effort to be responsive to 

stakeholders’ desires for a mechanism to 

get information into the registration 

review process as early as possible, EPA 

proposes to hold ‘‘Focus’’ meetings at 

the start of registration review for each 

active ingredient. In response to 

stakeholders’ desires for a more open, 

reliable, and transparent pesticide 

consultation process, EPA proposes to 

initiate any needed formal ESA 

consultations at a later stage in the 

review process. Consulting later in the 

registration review process allows EPA 

to develop more refined ecological risk 

assessments and to engage affected 

stakeholders in discussions that should 

result in more focused consultation 

packages inclusive of mitigation for 

listed species. There is an emerging 

consensus that EPA and the Services 

should engage informally and early in 

the consultation process, but that formal 

consultation should be reserved until 

EPA’s ecological risk assessment and 

proposed decision are more fully 

formed. This approach has the potential 

to maximize the opportunity to effect 

changes that provide protections for 

species and their designated critical 

habitat, lessen the impacts on 

agriculture, and narrow the scope of the 

Federal action. 

Additionally, the proposal describes 

EPA’s plans to reach out to pesticide 

users potentially affected to discuss the 

technological and economic feasibility 

of ‘‘Reasonable and Prudent 

Alternatives’’ (RPAs) intended to avoid 

jeopardy to threatened and/or 

endangered species. The USDA’s 

relationships with the agricultural 

community provide a critical link 

between EPA’s expertise on pesticides 

and the Services’ expertise on listed 

species’ locations, status and biology. 

Finally, the proposal describes the 

process by which public comments 

received on RPAs will be summarized 

and organized by EPA and provided to 

the Services, who will prepare a 

document to be included in the 

administrative record of the 

consultation explaining how comments 

were considered, and if appropriate, 

how the final biological opinion was 

modified to address the comments. The 

Services will provide the document to 

EPA, and both the Services and EPA 

will make the document available to the 

public upon request. These process 

changes are intended to provide clarity 

and transparency to the ESA Section 7 

consultation process for pesticides. 

EPA and the departments of 

Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior are 

taking this action because many 

stakeholders have expressed concerns 

regarding the apparent lack of 

transparency surrounding ESA 

consultations on pesticide registration 

review decisions, and the need for 

increased access to the decision-making 

process by states and other stakeholders 

for the purpose of providing relevant 

data for consideration during 

registration review and accompanying 

ESA consultation. Increasing public 

participation opportunities during both 

the registration review and 

accompanying ESA consultation 

processes, and improving clarity and 

transparency during these processes are 

important goals of this action. 

In the interest of facilitating 

discussion and providing clarification 

on the process changes described in the 

proposal, EPA and the departments of 

Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior are 

willing to meet with affected 

stakeholders. Individuals and/or 

organizations wanting to meet with the 

agencies to discuss this proposal should 

submit a request to the docket. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, 

Endangered species, Pesticides and 

pests, Threatened species. 

Dated: August 3, 2012. 

Steven Bradbury, 

Director, Office of Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–20237 Filed 8–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0570; FRL–9358–4] 

Ortho-Phthalaldehyde; Receipt of 

Application for Emergency Exemption, 

Solicitation of Public Comment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EPA has received a specific 

exemption request from the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration 

(NASA) to use the pesticide orthophthalaldehyde (OPA) (CAS No. 643– 

79–8) to treat the International Space 

Station internal active thermal control 

system (IATCS) coolant to control 

Cupriavidus metallidurans, Variovorax 

paradoxus, Acidovorax sp., 

Sphingomonas parapaucimobilis, 

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, 

Methylobacterium extorquens, and 

unidentified gram negative rods. This 

emergency exemption involves the use 

of a chemical which has not been 

registered by the EPA. EPA is soliciting 

public comment on the exemption. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0570, by 

one of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 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. 

• Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental 

Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/ 

DC), Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: To make special 

arrangements for hand delivery or 

delivery of boxed information, please 

follow the instructions at http:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.htm. 

Additional instructions on commenting 

or visiting the docket, along with more 


erowe on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
49794 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 160 / Friday, August 17, 2012 / Notices 

information about dockets generally, is 

available at http://www.epa.gov/ 

dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Debra Rate, Registration Division 

(7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460–0001; telephone number: 

(703) 306–0309; fax number: (703) 605– 

0781; email address: 

rate.debra@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

You may be potentially affected by 

this action if you are a pesticide 

manufacturer (NAICS code 32532) or 

involved with the International Space 

Station. This listing is not intended to 

be exhaustive, but rather provides a 

guide for readers regarding entities 

likely to be affected by this action. Other 

types of entities not listed in this unit 

could also be affected. The North 

American Industrial Classification 

System (NAICS) codes have been 

provided to assist you and others in 

determining whether this action might 

apply to certain entities. 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 

www.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 submitting comments, remember 

to: 

i. Identify the document by docket ID 

number and other identifying 

information (subject heading, Federal 

Register date and page number). 

ii. Follow directions. The Agency may 

ask you to respond to specific questions 

or organize comments by referencing a 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 

or section number. 

iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; 

suggest alternatives and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

iv. Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data that you used. 

v. If you estimate potential costs or 

burdens, explain how you arrived at 

your estimate in sufficient detail to 

allow for it to be reproduced. 

vi. Provide specific examples to 

illustrate your concerns and suggest 

alternatives. 

vii. Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

viii. Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified. 

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 pesticide(s) 

discussed in this document, compared 

to the general population. 

II. What action is the agency taking? 

Under section 18 of the Federal 

Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 

Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the 

discretion of the Administrator, a 

Federal or State agency may be 

exempted from any provision of FIFRA 

if the Administrator determines that 

emergency conditions exist which 

require the exemption. NASA has 

requested the Administrator to issue a 

specific exemption for the use of OPA 

in the International Space Station 

IATCS coolant to control Cupriavidus 

metallidurans, Variovorax paradoxus, 

Acidovorax sp., Sphingomonas 

parapaucimobilis, Stenotrophomonas 

maltophilia, Methylobacterium 

extorquens, and unidentified gram 

negative rods. Information in 

accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was 

submitted as part of this request. 

As part of this request, the applicant 

asserts that OPA is the most effective 

biocide which meets the requisite 

IATCS criteria, including: the need for 

safe, non-intrusive implementation and 

operation in a functioning system; the 

ability to control existing planktonic 

and biofilm residing micro-organisms; a 

negligible impact on system-wetted 

materials of construction; and a 

negligible reactivity with existing 

coolant additives. Non-use of OPA in 

the requested manner would leave 

NASA’s International Space Station 

without an adequate long-term solution 

for controlling the micro-organisms in 

the coolant systems. 

The Applicant proposes to make no 

more than one application of OPA per 

module in the International Space 

Station IATCS coolant including the 

U.S. Laboratory, the Japanese 

Experiment Module, the Columbus and 

Node with a total treated coolant 

volume not to exceed 829 Liters with a 

maximum of 1,974 cubic centimeters 

(cm3) OPA resin. 

The regulations governing section 18 

of FIFRA require publication of a notice 

of receipt of an application for a specific 

exemption proposing use of a new 

chemical (i.e., an active ingredient) 

which has not been registered by EPA. 

The notice provides an opportunity for 

public comment on the application. 

Owing to the long lead time necessary 

for sending products to the International 

Space Station, EPA has evaluated 

NASA’s application in advance of 

seeking public comment, and has 

concluded that the emergency 

exemption should be approved. 

Although EPA has approved this 

emergency exemption, EPA still 

welcomes public comment. EPA’s 

regulations provide that an emergency 

exemption may be modified or revoked 

if, among other things, additional 

information indicates that the product 

may cause unreasonable adverse effects 

or may not be effective at controlling the 

target pests. Accordingly, the Agency 

will review and consider all comments 

received during the comment period in 

determining whether the specific 

exemption should be modified or 

revoked. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, Pesticides 

and pests. 

Dated: August 3, 2012. 

Lois Rossi, 

Director, Registration Division, Office of 

Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–19953 Filed 8–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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