Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 69 / Monday, April 11, 2016 / Notices 21341 

submitted data or information must 

meet the following requirements: 

• To ensure that EPA will consider 

data or information submitted, 

interested persons must submit the data 

or information during the comment 

period. The Agency may, at its 

discretion, consider data or information 

submitted at a later date. 

• The data or information submitted 

must be presented in a legible and 

useable form. For example, an English 

translation must accompany any 

material that is not in English and a 

written transcript must accompany any 

information submitted as an 

audiographic or videographic record. 

Written material may be submitted in 

paper or electronic form. 

• Submitters must clearly identify the 

source of any submitted data or 

information. 

• Submitters may request the Agency 

to reconsider data or information that 

the Agency rejected in a previous 

review. However, submitters must 

explain why they believe the Agency 

should reconsider the data or 

information in the pesticide’s 

registration review. 

As provided in 40 CFR 155.58, the 

registration review docket for each 

pesticide case will remain publicly 

accessible through the duration of the 

registration review process; that is, until 

all actions required in the final decision 

on the registration review case have 

been completed. 

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

Dated: March 31, 2016. 

Yu-Ting Guilaran, 

Director, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division, 

Office of Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2016–08280 Filed 4–8–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2016–0167; FRL–9944–32] 

Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon, and Malathion 

Registration Review; Draft Biological 

Evaluations; Notice of Availability 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the 

availability of the draft biological 

evaluations for the registration reviews 

of all uses of chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and 

malathion for public review and 

comment. Registration review is EPA’s 

periodic review of pesticide 

registrations to ensure that each 

pesticide continues to satisfy the 

statutory standard for registration, that 

is, the pesticide can perform its 

intended function without unreasonable 

adverse effects. Through the registration 

review program, EPA is ensuring that 

each pesticide’s registration is based on 

the most current scientific methods. 

Furthermore, EPA is meeting its 

obligation under section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act by ensuring 

that each pesticide’s registration is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of any listed species or result 

in the destruction or adverse 

modification of designated critical 

habitat. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before June 10, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2016–0167, 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: For 

pesticide specific information contact: 

The Chemical Review Manager for the 

pesticide of interest identified in the 

following table. 

Registration review case name 

and No. Pesticide docket ID No. Chemical review manager, telephone number, email address 

Chlorpyrifos, 100 ............................. EPA–HQ–OPP–2008–0850 ........... Dana Friedman, 703–347–8827, friedman.dana@epa.gov. 

Diazinon, 238 .................................. EPA–HQ–OPP–2008–0351 ........... Khue Nguyen, 703–347–0248, nguyen.khue@epa.gov. 

Malathion, 248 ................................. EPA–HQ–OPP–2009–0317 ........... Steven Snyderman, 703–347–0249, Snyderman.steven@epa.gov. 

For general questions on the 

registration review program, contact: 

Richard Dumas, Pesticide Re-Evaluation 

Division (7508P), Office of Pesticide 

Programs, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone 

number: (703) 308–8015; email address: 

dumas.richard@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

This action is directed to the public 

in general, and may be of interest to a 

wide range of stakeholders including 

environmental, farm worker, and 

agricultural advocates; the chemical 

industry; pesticide users; and members 

of the public interested in the sale, 

distribution, or use of pesticides and/or 

the potential impacts of pesticide use on 

listed species and designated critical 

habitat. Since others also may 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 

Chemical Review Manager for the 

pesticide of interest identified 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 

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 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

21342 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 69 / Monday, April 11, 2016 / Notices 

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 pesticides 

discussed in this document, compared 

to the general population. 

II. Executive Summary 

A. What action is the agency taking? 

EPA is providing an opportunity for 

public review of its draft biological 

evaluations for the registration reviews 

of chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and 

malathion. Registration review is EPA’s 

periodic review of pesticide 

registrations to ensure that each 

pesticide continues to satisfy the 

statutory standard for registration, that 

is, the pesticide can perform its 

intended function without unreasonable 

adverse effects. As part of the 

registration review process, the Agency 

has completed comprehensive draft 

biological evaluations for all 

chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion 

uses. 

These draft biological evaluations 

represent the first ever nationwide 

assessments of these pesticides to 

federally endangered and threatened 

species (i.e., listed species) and 

designated critical habitat. The interim 

scientific methods used in these draft 

biological evaluations were developed 

collaboratively with the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS), hereafter referred to as the 

Services, based on recommendations 

from the April 2013 National Academy 

of Sciences (NAS) report ‘‘Assessing 

Risks to Endangered and Threatened 

Species from Pesticides.’’ As part of this 

effort, the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture has provided expertise on 

crop production and pesticide uses and 

assistance with the use of the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service Cropland 

Data Layer to help define the footprint 

of agricultural use patterns. 

After reviewing comments received 

during the public comment period, EPA 

will issue revised final biological 

evaluations, explain any changes, 

respond to comments, and may request 

public input on risk mitigation before 

completing proposed registration review 

decisions for chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and 

malathion. For those species and 

designated critical habitats where 

registered uses of the pesticides are 

‘‘likely to adversely affect’’ species and/ 

or habitat, USFWS and NMFS will 

utilize the analyses and data from the 

biological evaluations in their final 

Biological Opinions for each of the three 

chemicals. 

B. What is the agency’s authority for 

taking this action? 

EPA is conducting its registration 

review of chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and 

malathion pursuant to section 3(g) of the 

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. 136 

et seq., and the Procedural Regulations 

for Registration Review at 40 CFR part 

155, subpart C. Section 3(g) of FIFRA 

provides, among other things, that the 

registrations of pesticides are to be 

reviewed every 15 years. Under FIFRA, 

a pesticide product may be registered, or 

remain registered, only if it meets the 

statutory standard for registration given 

in FIFRA section 3(c)(5) (7 U.S.C. 

136a(c)(5)). When used in accordance 

with widespread and commonly 

recognized practice, the pesticide 

product must perform its intended 

function without unreasonable adverse 

effects on the environment; that is, 

without any unreasonable risk to man or 

the environment. 

EPA develops endangered species 

biological evaluations and consults with 

the Services pursuant to section 7(a)(2) 

of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq., and the 

implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 

402. 

III. Registration Reviews 

As directed by FIFRA section 3(g), 

EPA is reviewing the pesticide 

registrations for chlorpyrifos, diazinon, 

and malathion to ensure that these 

registrations continue to satisfy the 

FIFRA standard for registration—that is, 

that chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and 

malathion can still be used without 

unreasonable adverse effects. 

EPA has been collaborating with the 

Services to develop interim scientific 

approaches to assess the impact of 

pesticides on listed species and 

designated critical habitat, as required 

by ESA and as recommended by the 

April 2013 NAS report. Chlorpyrifos, 

diazinon, and malathion were selected 

for the development and 

implementation of these interim 

approaches because these pesticides 

were included in the first Biological 

Opinion issued by NMFS in response to 

litigation brought by the Washington 

Toxics Coalition (WTC) with regard to 

salmonids in the Pacific Northwest. 

This Biological Opinion was later 

remanded to NMFS by the U.S. Court of 

Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The interim 

scientific approaches used in the draft 

biological evaluations for chlorpyrifos, 

diazinon, and malathion were 

developed based on a collaborative 

effort among the agencies, and will be 

refined based on the public comments 

received on the draft biological 

evaluations as well as input from an 

ESA stakeholder workshop planned for 

the summer of 2016. More information 

on this process is available at https://

www.epa.gov/endangered-species/

implementing-nas-reportrecommendations-ecological-riskassessment-endangered-and. 

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate 

(OP) insecticide, acaricide, and miticide 

used to control a variety of insects on 

a variety of food and feed crops. 

Currently registered uses include a 

variety of fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains, 

and non-agricultural areas (such golf 

course turf, industrial sites, greenhouses 

and nurseries, sod farms, and wood 

products). Public health uses include 

aerial and ground-based fogger 

treatments to control mosquitoes. There 

are also residential uses of ant and roach 

bait products and fire ant mound 

treatments. EPA has completed a draft 

biological evaluation to assess whether 

all registered uses of chlorpyrifos may 

affect listed species and designated 

critical habitat. The chlorpyrifos draft 

biological evaluation is viewable at: 

https://www.epa.gov/endangeredspecies/biological-evaluation-chapterschlorpyrifos. Comments on the draft 

biological evaluation for chlorpyrifos 

should be submitted to the chlorpyrifos 

registration review docket (EPA–HQ– 

OPP–2008–0850) at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Diazinon is a restricted use OP 

insecticide currently registered for use 

on a number of fruits, vegetables, nuts, 

ornamentals, and in cattle ear tags. All 

residential uses were phased out as part 

of risk mitigation during reregistration, 

and there are currently no residential 

uses. EPA has completed a draft 

biological evaluation to assess whether 

all registered uses of diazinon may 

affect listed species and designated 

critical habitat. The diazinon draft 

biological evaluation is viewable at: 

https://www.epa.gov/endangeredspecies/biological-evaluation-chaptersdiazinon. Comments on the draft 

biological evaluation for diazinon 

should be submitted to the diazinon 

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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 69 / Monday, April 11, 2016 / Notices 21343 

registration review docket (EPA–HQ– 

OPP–2008–0351) at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Malathion is a non-systemic, wide 

spectrum OP. It is used in the 

agricultural production of a wide variety 

of food/feed crops to control insects 

such as aphids, leafhoppers, and 

Japanese beetles. Malathion is also used 

in USDA’s Cotton Boll Weevil 

Eradication Program, Fruit Fly (Medfly) 

Control Program, and for mosquitoborne disease control. It is also 

registered for outdoor residential uses 

which include vegetable gardens, home 

orchards, and ornamentals. EPA has 

completed a draft biological evaluation 

to assess whether all registered uses of 

malathion may affect listed species and 

designated critical habitat. The draft 

malathion biological evaluation is 

viewable at: https://www.epa.gov/

endangered-species/biologicalevaluation-chapters-malathion. 

Comments on the draft biological 

evaluation for malathion should be 

submitted to the malathion registration 

review docket (EPA–HQ–OPP–2009– 

0317) at http://www.regulations.gov. 

IV. Public Review and Comment 

Opportunity 

Pursuant to 40 CFR 155.53(c), EPA is 

providing an opportunity, through this 

notice of availability, for interested 

parties to provide comments and input 

concerning the Agency’s draft biological 

evaluations for chlorpyrifos, diazinon, 

and malathion. Such comments and 

input could address, among other 

things, the Agency’s risk assessment 

methodologies and assumptions, as 

applied to these draft biological 

evaluations. The Agency will consider 

all comments received during the public 

comment period and make changes, as 

appropriate, to the draft biological 

evaluations. EPA will then issue final 

biological evaluations, explain any 

changes to the draft biological 

evaluations, and respond to comments. 

For those species and designated critical 

habitats where registered uses of the 

pesticides are ‘‘likely to adversely 

affect’’ species and/or habitat, USFWS 

and NMFS will utilize the analyses and 

data from the biological evaluations in 

their final Biological Opinions for each 

of the three chemicals. The final 

Biological Opinions for the three 

chemicals are currently scheduled for 

December 2017. In the Federal Register 

notice announcing the availability of the 

final biological evaluations, if the final 

biological evaluations indicate risks of 

concern, the Agency may provide a 

comment period for the public to submit 

suggestions for mitigating the risk 

identified in the final biological 

evaluations before developing proposed 

registration review decisions for 

chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion. 

1. Other related information. 

Additional information on endangered 

species risk assessment and the NAS 

report recommendations are available at 

https://www.epa.gov/endangeredspecies/implementing-nas-reportrecommendations-ecological-riskassessment-endangered-and. 

Information on the Agency’s registration 

review program and its implementing 

regulation is available at https://

www.epa.gov/pesticide-reevaluation. 

2. Information submission 

requirements. Anyone may submit data 

or information in response to this 

document. To be considered during a 

pesticide’s registration review, the 

submitted data or information must 

meet the following requirements: 

• To ensure that EPA will consider 

data or information submitted, 

interested persons must submit the data 

or information during the comment 

period. The Agency may, at its 

discretion, consider data or information 

submitted at a later date. 

• The data or information submitted 

must be presented in a legible and 

useable form. For example, an English 

translation must accompany any 

material that is not in English, and a 

written transcript must accompany any 

information submitted as an 

audiographic or videographic record. 

Written material may be submitted in 

paper or electronic form. 

• Submitters must clearly identify the 

source of any submitted data or 

information. 

• Submitters may request the Agency 

to reconsider data or information that 

the Agency rejected in a previous 

review. However, submitters must 

explain why they believe the Agency 

should reconsider the data or 

information in the pesticide’s 

registration review. 

As provided in 40 CFR 155.58, the 

registration review docket for each 

pesticide case will remain publicly 

accessible through the duration of the 

registration review process; that is, until 

all actions required in the final decision 

on the registration review case have 

been completed. 

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

Dated: March 28, 2016. 

Michael Goodis, 

Acting Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation 

Division, Office of Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2016–08279 Filed 4–8–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9944–85–Region 1] 

2016 Spring Joint Meeting of the 

Ozone Transport Commission and the 

Mid-Atlantic Northeast Visibility Union 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The United States 

Environmental Protection Agency is 

announcing the joint 2016 Spring 

Meeting of the Ozone Transport 

Commission (OTC) and the MidAtlantic Northeast Visibility Union 

(MANE–VU). The meeting agenda will 

include topics regarding reducing 

ground-level ozone precursors and 

matters relative to Regional Haze and 

visibility improvement in Federal Class 

I areas in a multi-pollutant context. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on June 

3, 2016 starting at 9:15 a.m. and ending 

at 4:00 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: Palomar Philadelphia, 117 

South 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 

19103, 215–563–5006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

For documents and press inquiries 

contact: Ozone Transport Commission, 

444 North Capitol Street NW., Suite 322, 

Washington, DC 20001; (202) 508–3840; 

email: ozone@otcair.org; Web site: 

http://www.otcair.org. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Clean 

Air Act Amendments of 1990 contain at 

section 184 provisions for the Control of 

Interstate Ozone Air Pollution. Section 

184(a) establishes an Ozone Transport 

Region (OTR) comprised of the States of 

Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, 

Maryland, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, 

parts of Virginia and the District of 

Columbia. The purpose of the OTC is to 

deal with ground-level ozone formation, 

transport, and control within the OTR. 

The Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Visibility 

Union (MANE–VU) was formed in 2001, 

in response to EPA’s issuance of the 

Regional Haze rule. MANE–VU’s 

members include: Connecticut, 

Delaware, the District of Columbia, 

Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, 

the Penobscot Indian Nation, the St. 

Regis Mohawk Tribe along with EPA 

and Federal Land Managers. 

Type of Meeting: Open. 

Agenda: Copies of the final agenda 

will be available from the OTC office 

(202) 508–3840; by email: ozone@

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES