77310 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / Notices 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–ORD–2017–0496; FRL–11545–01– 

ORD] 

Availability of the Protocol for the 

Nitrate and Nitrite IRIS Assessment 

(Oral) 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is announcing a 30-day 

public comment period associated with 

release of the document Protocol for the 

Nitrate and Nitrite IRIS Assessment 

(Oral). This document communicates 

the rationale for conducting the human 

health assessment of Nitrate and Nitrite, 

describes screening criteria to identify 

relevant literature, outlines the 

approach for evaluating study quality, 

and describes the methods for doseresponse analysis. 

DATES: The 30-day public comment 

period begins November 9, 2023 and 

ends December 11, 2023. Comments 

must be received on or before December 

11, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: The Protocol for the Nitrate 

and Nitrite IRIS Assessment (Oral) will 

be available via the internet on the IRIS 

website at https://www.epa.gov/iris and 

in the public docket at http://

www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA– 

HQ–ORD–2017–0496. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the docket, contact the 

ORD Docket at the EPA Headquarters 

Docket Center; email: Docket_ORD@

epa.gov. 

For technical information on the 

protocol, contact Mr. Dahnish Shams, 

Center for Public Health & 

Environmental Assessment; email: 

shams.dahnish@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background Information on the IRIS 

Program and Systematic Review 

Protocols 

EPA’s IRIS Program is a human health 

assessment program that evaluates 

quantitative and qualitative information 

on effects that may result from exposure 

to chemicals found in the environment. 

Through the IRIS Program, EPA 

provides high quality science-based 

human health assessments to support 

the Agency’s regulatory activities and 

decisions to protect public health. 

As part of developing a draft IRIS 

assessment, EPA presents a methods 

document, referred to as the protocol, 

for conducting a chemical-specific 

systematic review of the available 

scientific literature. EPA is seeking 

public comment on components of the 

protocol including the described 

strategies for literature searches, criteria 

for study inclusion or exclusion, 

considerations for evaluating study 

methods, information management for 

extracting data, approaches for synthesis 

within and across lines of evidence, and 

methods for derivation of toxicity 

values. The protocol serves to inform 

the subsequent development of the draft 

assessment and is made available to the 

public. EPA may update the protocol 

based on the evaluation of the literature, 

and any updates will be posted to the 

docket and on the IRIS website. 

II. How to Submit Technical Comments 

to the Docket at https://

www.regulations.gov 

Submit your comments, identified by 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–ORD–2017– 

0496 for Nitrate/Nitrite, by one of the 

following methods: 

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Email: Docket_ORD@epa.gov. 

• Fax: 202–566–9744. 

• Mail: U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center 

(ORD Docket), Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20460. The phone number is 202– 

566–1752. 

For information on visiting the EPA 

Docket Center Public Reading Room, 

visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets. The 

telephone number for the Public 

Reading Room is 202–566–1744. The 

public can submit comments via 

www.regulations.gov or email. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

docket number EPA–HQ–ORD–2017– 

0496 for nitrate/nitrite. Please ensure 

that your comments are submitted 

within the specified comment period. 

Comments received after the closing 

date will be marked ‘‘late,’’ and may 

only be considered if time permits. It is 

EPA’s policy to include all comments it 

receives in the public docket without 

change and to make the comments 

available online at https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless a 

comment includes information claimed 

to be Confidential Business Information 

(CBI) or other information for which 

disclosure is restricted by statute. Do 

not submit information through https:// 

www.regulations.gov or email that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected. The https://

www.regulations.gov website is an 

‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an email comment directly 

to EPA without going through https://

www.regulations.gov, your email 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket, visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at https://

www.epa.gov/dockets. 

Docket: Documents in the docket are 

listed in the https://

www.regulations.gov index. Although 

listed in the index, some information is 

not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

materials, such as copyrighted material, 

are publicly available only in hard copy. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available either electronically in https:// 

www.regulations.gov or as a hard copy 

at the ORD Docket in the EPA 

Headquarters Docket Center. 

Wayne Cascio, 

Director, Center for Public Health & 

Environmental Assessment. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24746 Filed 11–8–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2022–0509; FRL–7661–05– 

OCSPP] 

Notice of Approval Status; Certifying 

Authorities’ Amended Plans for 

Certification of Commercial and 

Private Applicators of Restricted Use 

Pesticides; Batch Four 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is announcing its 

approval or conditional approval of 26 

amended certification plans for 

certifying applicators of Restricted Use 

Pesticides (RUPs) from the following 

certifying authorities: Arkansas 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / Notices 77311 

Department of Agriculture (ADA), 

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s Water, 

Energy and Environment Committee 

(CRST–WEEC), Clemson University 

Division of Regulatory and Public 

Service Programs, Department of 

Pesticide Regulation (CUDPR), Florida 

Department of Agriculture and 

Consumer Services (FDACS), Guam 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(Guam-EPA), Idaho State Department of 

Agriculture (ISDA), Illinois Department 

of Agriculture (IDA), Kansas Department 

of Agriculture (KDA), Louisiana 

Department of Agriculture and Forestry 

(LDAF), Maine Department of 

Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 

Board of Pesticides Control (ME BPC), 

Massachusetts Department of 

Agricultural Resources (MDAR), 

Missouri Department of Agriculture 

(MODA), Montana Department of 

Agriculture (MTDA), New Mexico 

Department of Agriculture (NMDA), 

Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), 

Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, 

Food, and Forestry (ODAFF), 

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture 

(PDA), the Prairie Band Potawatomi 

Nation (PBPN), the Santee Sioux Nation 

(SSN), Tennessee Department of 

Agriculture (TNDA), Texas Department 

of Agriculture (TXDA), the Three 

Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold 

Reservation’s Natural Resources 

Department (TAT/NRD), Utah 

Department of Agriculture and Food 

(UDAF), Virginia Department of 

Agriculture and Consumer Services 

(VDACS), the White Earth Band of the 

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (WE), and 

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, 

Trade, and Consumer Protection 

(WDATCP). The 26 plans listed in this 

batched notice represents the fifth 

notification announcing the approval of 

the federal, state, territory, and tribal 

certification plans that have gone 

through the review and approval 

process. The amended plans are 

consistent with the existing regulatory 

requirements, including revisions made 

in 2017 to enhance and improve the 

competency of certified applicators of 

RUPs and persons working under their 

direct supervision. The 2017 regulatory 

revisions are intended to further reduce 

potential exposure of RUPs to certified 

applicators and those working under 

their direct supervision, other workers, 

the public, and the environment. 

Federal, state, territory, and tribal 

certifying authorities with existing 

certification plans were required to 

revise their existing plans to conform 

with the updated federal standards for 

RUP applicator certification and receive 

EPA approval by the established 

regulatory deadline. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

For technical information contact: 

The designated EPA point of contact for 

the Certification Plan of interest as 

listed in Table 1 of Unit I.B. 

For general information contact: 

Carolyn Schroeder, Pesticide ReEvaluation Division (7508M), Office of 

Pesticide Programs, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460–0001; 

telephone number: (202) 566–2376; 

email address: schroeder.carolyn@

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 federal, state, 

territory, or tribal agency who 

administers a certification program for 

pesticides applicators. You many also 

be potentially affected by this action if 

you are: A registrant of RUP products; 

a person who applies RUPs, including 

those under the direct supervision of a 

certified applicator; a person who relies 

upon the availability of RUPs; someone 

who hires a certified applicator to apply 

an RUP; a pesticide safety educator; or 

other person who provides pesticide 

safety training for pesticide applicator 

certification or recertification. 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: 

• Agricultural Establishments (Crop 

Production) (NAICS code 111). 

• Nursery and Tree Production 

(NAICS code 111421). 

• Agricultural Pest Control and 

Pesticide Handling on Farms (NAICS 

code 115112). 

• Crop Advisors (NAICS codes 

115112, 541690, 541712). 

• Agricultural (Animal) Pest Control 

(Livestock Spraying) (NAICS code 

115210). 

• Forestry Pest Control (NAICS code 

115310). 

• Wood Preservation Pest Control 

(NAICS code 321114). 

• Pesticide Registrants (NAICS code 

325320). 

• Pesticide Dealers (NAICS codes 

424690, 424910, 444220). 

• Industrial, Institutional, Structural 

& Health Related Pest Control (NAICS 

code 561710). 

• Ornamental & Turf, Rights-of-Way 

Pest Control (NAICS code 561730). 

• Environmental Protection Program 

Administrators (NAICS code 924110). 

• Governmental Pest Control 

Programs (NAICS code 926140). 

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. How can I get copies of these 

documents and other related 

information? 

For assistance in locating documents 

related to the approved plans identified 

in this notice, please consult the 

designated EPA point of contact for the 

Certification Plan of interest as listed in 

Table 1 of this unit, or the general 

contact person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

TABLE 1—DESIGNATED EPA POINT OF CONTACTS FOR THE CERTIFICATION PLANS

EPA region Certification plan EPA point of contact POC phone Email 

Region 1 ................................ MDAR ...................................

ME BPC 

Andrea Szylvian ................... (617) 918–1198 szylvian.andreacommat;

epa.gov. 

Region 3 ................................ PDA ......................................

VDACS 

Camille Lukey ...................... (215) 814–2930 lukey.camille@epa.gov. 

Region 4 ................................ CUDPR ................................

FDACS 

TNDA 

Richard Corbett .................... (404) 562–9008 corbett.richard@epa.gov. 

Region 5 ................................ IDA .......................................

ODA 

WDATCP 

WE 

Donald Baumgartner ............ (312) 886–7835 baumgartner.donald@

epa.gov. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
77312 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 216 / Thursday, November 9, 2023 / Notices 

TABLE 1—DESIGNATED EPA POINT OF CONTACTS FOR THE CERTIFICATION PLANS—Continued 

EPA region Certification plan EPA point of contact POC phone Email 

Region 6 ................................ ADA ......................................

LDAF 

NMDA 

ODAFF 

TXDA 

Eric Nystrom ........................ (214) 665–6752 nystrom.eric@epa.gov. 

Region 7 ................................ KDA ......................................

MODA 

PBPN 

SSN 

Shawn Hackett ..................... (913) 551–7774 hackett.shawn@epa.gov. 

Region 8 ................................ CRST–WEEC .......................

MTDA 

TAT/NRD 

UDAF 

Kevin Martin ......................... (303) 312–6085 martin.kevin@epa.gov. 

Region 9 ................................ Guam-EPA ........................... Katy Wilcoxen ...................... (415) 947–4205 wilcoxen.katy@epa.gov. 

Region 10 .............................. ISDA ..................................... Bethany Plewe ..................... (208) 378–5753 plewe.bethany@epa.gov. 

II. What is the Agency’s authority for 

taking this action? 

Section 11 of the Federal Insecticide, 

Fungicide, Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7. 

U.S.C. 136 et seq., requires certifying 

authorities to have an EPA-approved 

certification plan to certify applicators 

of RUPs. The Certification of Pesticide 

Applicators (CPA) regulation at 40 CFR 

part 171 was amended in 2017 (Ref. 1). 

As a result, federal, state, territory, and 

tribal certifying authorities with existing 

certification plans were required to 

revise their existing certification plans 

to conform with the updated federal 

standards for the certification of 

applicators of RUPs and submit their 

revisions to EPA by March 2020 for EPA 

review and approval. The CPA 

regulation specifies that the existing 

certification plans remain in place until 

the revised plans are approved by EPA 

on or before the regulatory deadline 

established in 40 CFR 171.5. The 

Agency has since issued a final rule 

extending the original deadline for 

certification plans to comply with the 

updated federal standards under the 

2017 CPA rule to November 4, 2023 

(Ref. 2). 

III. What action is the Agency taking? 

This action gives notice that the 

following 26 certifying authorities’ 

certification plans submitted to the 

Agency meet or exceed the standards of 

40 CFR part 171: ADA, CRST–WEEC, 

CUDPR, FDACS, Guam–EPA, IDA, 

ISDA, KDA, LDAF, MDAR, ME BPC, 

MODA, MTDA, NMDA, ODA, ODAFF, 

PBPN, PDA, SSN, TAT/NRD, TNDA, 

TXDA, UDAF, VDACS, WDATCP, and 

WE. EPA hereby gives notice that the 26 

amended certification plans for 

certifying applicators of RUPs listed in 

this document are now approved or 

conditionally approved plans; the 

certifying authorities may certify RUP 

applicators and continue with 

implementation of the certification 

plans as outlined in the approved plans. 

With this announcement, EPA has 

approved or conditionally approved 67 

out of the 68 federal, state, territory, and 

tribal certification plans submitted to 

the Agency prior to the November 2023 

regulatory deadline. The 26 plans listed 

in this batched notice represents the 

fifth notification announcing the 

approval of the federal, state, territory, 

and tribal certification plans that have 

gone through the review and approval 

process. EPA also provides information 

regarding the reviews and approvals of 

these certification plans, and where 

copies of these approved plans are 

available, on its website at https://

www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/ 

certification-standards-pesticideapplicators. 

One remaining plan, which is a 

Tribal-EPA memorandum of agreement 

(MOA) with the Shoshone-Bannock 

Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation 

(SBT), will not be finalized by the 

November 4, 2023 deadline. After the 

November 2023, deadline, the existing 

MOA will no longer be valid. By 

default, the Tribe’s jurisdiction will be 

covered by the EPA Plan for the Federal 

Certification of Applicators of Restricted 

Use Pesticides within Indian Country 

(EPA Plan) (Ref. 3) until the MOA is 

approved. Alternatively, if the Tribe 

responds in writing that it wants to opt 

out of the EPA Plan in the interim, they 

may do so. The Tribe, in any case, may 

continue to work with EPA to finalize 

their MOA. EPA will notify the Tribe 

that they may not continue to issue new 

or renew certifications under its existing 

MOA until the modified plan is 

approved. EPA will work with the Tribe 

on transitioning to the EPA Plan 

pending the approval of their MOA, 

including establishing a transition phase 

for existing applicators to get certified 

under the EPA Plan. 

III. References 

The following is a list of documents 

that are related to the issuance of this 

Notice. For assistance in locating these 

other documents, please consult the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

1. EPA. Pesticides; Certification of Pesticide 

Applicators; Final Rule. Federal 

Register. 82 FR 952, January 4, 2017 

(FRL–9956–70). 

2. EPA. Pesticides; Certification of Pesticide 

Applicators; Further Extension to 

Expiration Date of Certification Plans; 

Final Rule. Federal Register. 87 FR 

50953, August 19, 2022 (FRL–9134.1– 

04–OCSPP). 

3. EPA. Notice of Approval Status; EPA Plan 

for the Federal Certification of 

Applicators Within Indian Country. 

Federal Register. 88 FR 68604, October 

4, 2023 (FRL–7661–04–OCSPP). 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136–136y. 

Dated: November 3, 2023. 

Mary Elissa Reaves, 

Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division, 

Office of Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24745 Filed 11–8–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OA–2023–0030, FRL–11537–01– 

OA] 

Notice of Meeting of the EPA 

Children’s Health Protection Advisory 

Committee (CHPAC) 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 

notice is hereby given that the next 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1