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[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4623-4624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01571]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0643; FRL-9941-32]

Sulfoxaflor; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, 
Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA has received a specific exemption request from the Texas 
Department of Agriculture to use the insecticide sulfoxaflor (CAS No. 
946578-00-3) to treat up to 3,000,000 acres of sorghum to control 
sugarcane aphid. The applicant proposes a use of a pesticide, 
sulfoxaflor, which is now considered to be unregistered under the 
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) owing to 
the

[[Page 4624]]

vacature of sulfoxaflor registrations by the United States District 
Court for the Central District of California. In accordance with 40 CFR 
166.24, EPA is soliciting public comment before making a decision 
whether or not to grant the exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 11, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2014-0643, 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), (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.html.
    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: Susan Lewis, Registration Division 
(7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; main telephone 
number: (703) 305-7090; email address: RDFRNotices@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 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 
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 preparing and submitting 
your comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.
    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 
discussed in this document, compared to the general population.

II. What action is the Agency taking?

    Under section 18 of the FIFRA (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the discretion of 
the EPA Administrator, a Federal or State agency may be exempted from 
any provision of FIFRA if the EPA Administrator determines that 
emergency conditions exist which require the exemption. The Texas 
Department of Agriculture has requested the EPA Administrator to issue 
a repeat specific exemption for the use of sulfoxaflor on sorghum to 
control sugarcane aphid. Information in accordance with 40 CFR part 166 
was submitted as part of this request.
    As part of this request, the applicant asserts that an emergency 
situation exists based on unusually high populations of sugarcane aphid 
(Melanaphis sacchari), which can cause direct plant death from aphid 
feeding as well as indirect damage and harvesting problems from the 
aphid honeydew residue in Texas sorghum fields. Based on information 
provided by the states in previous submissions, sugarcane aphid is 
either a new pest or new biotype of M. sacchari. Currently, there are 
no registered insecticides or any economically or environmentally 
feasible alternative control practices available to adequately control 
this non-routine pest infestation. The state has asserted that without 
the use of sulfoxaflor, uncontrolled aphid infestations are likely to 
result in significant economic losses.
    The applicant proposes to make no more than two applications at a 
rate of 0.75-1.5 ounces of product (0.023-0.047 lb a.i.) per acre or a 
seasonal maximum application rate of 3.0 ounces of product (0.094 lb 
a.i.) per acre per year, resulting in the use of 70,314 gallons of 
product. A maximum of 3,000,000 acres of sorghum fields (grain and 
forage) may be treated in Texas. Applications would potentially be made 
through November 30, 2016.
    This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the 
application itself. The regulations governing FIFRA section 18 do not 
expressly require publication of a notice of receipt of an application 
for a specific exemption proposing a use of a pesticide that has been 
subject to a judicial vacatur, however, EPA considers public notice 
appropriate in this instance. Accordingly, this notice provides an 
opportunity for public comment on the application.
    The Agency, will review and consider all comments received during 
the comment period in determining whether to issue the specific 
exemption requested by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.

    Dated: January 15, 2016.
Daniel J. Rosenblatt,
Acting Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2016-01571 Filed 1-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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