39640 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 129 / Thursday, July 5, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Captain of the Port Buffalo or his 

designated on-scene representative. 

(2) This safety zone is closed to all 

vessel traffic, except as may be 

permitted by the Captain of the Port 

Buffalo or his designated on-scene 

representative. 

(3) The ‘‘on-scene representative’’ of 

the Captain of the Port Buffalo is any 

Coast Guard commissioned, warrant or 

petty officer who has been designated 

by the Captain of the Port Buffalo to act 

on his behalf. 

(4) Vessel operators desiring to enter 

or operate within the safety zone shall 

contact the Captain of the Port Buffalo 

or his on-scene representative to obtain 

permission to do so. The Captain of the 

Port Buffalo or his on-scene 

representative may be contacted via 

VHF Channel 16. Vessel operators given 

permission to enter or operate in the 

safety zone must comply with all 

directions given to them by the Captain 

of the Port Buffalo, or his on-scene 

representative. 

Dated: June 21, 2012. 

S.M. Wischmann, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Buffalo. 

[FR Doc. 2012–16452 Filed 7–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 171 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2011–0049; FRL–9334–4] 

RIN 2070–AJ77 

Synchronizing the Expiration Dates of 

the Pesticide Applicator Certificate 

With the Underlying State or Tribal 

Certificate 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule will reduce 

burden to restricted use pesticide 

applicators and simplify federal 

certification expiration dates. Restricted 

use pesticides (RUPs) are those which 

may generally cause unreasonable 

adverse effects on the environment 

without additional restrictions. RUPs 

may only be applied by or under the 

direct supervision of an applicator 

certified as competent by a certifying 

agency. A State, tribe, or Federal agency 

becomes a certifying agency by 

receiving approval from EPA on their 

certification plan. In areas not covered 

by a certifying agency, EPA may 

establish a Federal certification plan 

and issue Federal certificates directly. 

One way EPA may issue a Federal 

certificate is based on an existing valid 

certificate from a certifying agency, and 

this final rule will synchronize the 

expiration dates on the Federal 

certificate with that of the certifying 

agency certificate on which the Federal 

certificate is based. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

September 4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: The docket for this action, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2011–0049, is 

available either electronically through 

http://www.regulations.gov or in hard 

copy at the OPP Docket in the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Docket Center (EPA/DC), located in EPA 

West, Rm. 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. 

NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001. The 

Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 

a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 

telephone number for the Public 

Reading Room is (202) 566–1744, and 

the telephone number for the OPP 

Docket is (703) 305–5805. Please review 

the visitor instructions and additional 

information about the docket available 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe 

Hogue, Field and External Affairs 

Division (7506P), Office of Pesticide 

Programs, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone 

number: (703) 308–9072; fax number: 

(703) 308–7070; email address: hogue.

joe@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Executive Summary 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

You may be potentially affected by 

this action if you are or intend to 

become a certified applicator under an 

EPA Federal certification plan. Certified 

applicators are included in three major 

industries in the North American 

Industrial Classification System 

(NAICS) codes described as crop 

production, animal production or 

exterminating, and pest control services. 

Potentially affected entities may 

include, but are not limited to: 

• Crop production (NAICS code 111), 

e.g., individuals that are private 

certified applicators on farms. 

• Animal production (NAICS code 

112), e.g., individuals that are private 

certified applicators on farms. 

• Exterminating and pest control 

services (NAICS code 561710), e.g., 

individuals that are commercial 

certified applicators for hire. 

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. 

B. What is the agency’s authority for 

taking this action? 

This final rule is issued pursuant to 

the authority in sections 11 and 25 of 

the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

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

and w). Section 11 of FIFRA (7 U.S.C. 

136i), requires EPA to provide 

certification plans for applicators of 

RUPs. Section 25 of FIFRA (7 U.S.C. 

136w), authorizes EPA to issue 

regulations to carry out provisions of 

FIFRA. 

II. Background 

Under the provisions of FIFRA 

section 3(d)(1)(C), EPA shall classify a 

pesticide for restricted use, if, absent 

additional regulatory restrictions, the 

Agency determines that it may generally 

cause unreasonable adverse effects on 

the environment. RUPs may be applied 

only by a certified applicator or under 

the direct supervision of a certified 

applicator. 

Pesticide applicators can be certified 

either by a certifying agency (a State, 

tribe, or non-EPA Federal agency that 

has an EPA-approved certification plan), 

or directly by EPA through a Federal 

certification plan for an area or situation 

not covered by a certifying agency’s 

plan. Applicators must demonstrate 

competency to the certifying agency 

granting the certificate, according to the 

requirements of that agency’s plan. 

Currently, all 50 States, some federal 

agencies, and 4 tribes are certifying 

agencies (i.e., they implement their 

EPA-approved certification plans). 

Applicators certified by a State may 

apply RUPs in that State, and 

applicators certified by a tribe may 

apply RUPs in that tribe’s Indian 

country, without a Federal certificate. 

However, under 40 CFR 171.11, in areas 

where there is no EPA-approved 

certification plan in effect (currently, 

most of Indian country), EPA may 

implement a Federal plan, thereby 

allowing applicators to use RUPs in the 

area covered by the plan after receiving 

Federal certification. Under 40 CFR 

171.11(e), a Federal plan may include 

an option that allows applicators to be 

issued an EPA Federal certificate after 

submitting to EPA a certification form 

along with documentation of a valid 

certificate from a certifying agency, 

without further demonstration of 

competency. 

Applicator certificates have expiration 

dates to help ensure that certified 

applicators maintain their competency. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 129 / Thursday, July 5, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 39641 

All certifying agencies implement a 

recertification program for applicators. 

These programs require certified 

applicators to continue to meet the 

competency requirements either 

through continuing education or 

examination. 

Section 171.11(e) states that an EPA 

Federal certificate based on a certifying 

agency’s certificate is valid for 2 years 

for commercial applicators and 3 years 

for private applicators, or until the 

expiration date of the original certifying 

agency certificate, whichever occurs 

first. The duration of the certification 

period varies significantly among States, 

with some currently being shorter and 

some longer than the Federal certificate 

maximum of 2 or 3 years. 

On June 24, 2011 (76 FR 37045) (FRL– 

8863–7), EPA published a proposed rule 

to eliminate the 2 or 3 year maximum 

for Federal certificates and allow 

Federal certification to expire at the 

same time as the underlying certifying 

agency certificate. The public comment 

period for the proposed rule closed on 

August 23, 2011. EPA received one 

comment, which was from a tribal 

government agency and supported the 

proposal. The commenter said that the 

rule will ‘‘eliminate confusion about the 

different expiration dates and there will 

be less paperwork.’’ 

III. Final Rule 

This action will finalize what was 

proposed in June 2011. EPA is 

amending 40 CFR 171.11(e) to 

synchronize the expiration dates for the 

EPA Federal certificate with the 

certifying agency certifications of RUP 

applicators. This minor revision does 

not pose any additional requirement or 

burden and is expected to have a 

beneficial impact on affected entities, 

without impacting human health or the 

environment. EPA will benefit through 

the reduction of administration of 

Federal certification plans. 

Additionally, this rule supersedes the 

expiration dates described in the Navajo 

Certification Plan. Further explanation 

of benefits and the underlying reasons 

for this revision are explained in the 

proposed rule associated with this 

action (June 24, 2011; 76 FR 37045). 

IV. FIFRA Mandated Reviews 

In accordance with FIFRA section 

25(a) and (d), EPA submitted a draft of 

this final rule to the Committee on 

Agriculture in the House of 

Representatives, the Committee on 

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry in 

the United States Senate, the United 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), and the FIFRA Scientific 

Advisory Panel (SAP). The SAP and 

USDA waived review of this final rule. 

V. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

This action will allow EPA to use the 

same expiration date for the certification 

it grants, using the expiration date of the 

valid certifying agency certification 

upon which the EPA certification is 

based. It does not otherwise amend or 

impose any other requirements. The 

final rule will not otherwise involve any 

significant policy or legal issues, and 

will not increase existing costs. In fact, 

synchronizing the expiration dates can 

reduce burden because some applicators 

will have to complete less paperwork by 

having a reduced frequency of Federal 

recertification. As such, EPA is not 

required to make special considerations 

or evaluations under the following 

statutory and Executive Order review 

requirements. 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under Executive Order 12866 

(58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and is 

therefore not subject to review under 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 (76 

FR 3821, January 21, 2011). 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

This action does not impose or change 

any information collection burden that 

requires additional review by the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

under the provisions of the PRA (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Burden is defined 

at 5 CFR 1320.3(b). An Agency may not 

conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 

required to respond to a collection of 

information that requires OMB approval 

under PRA, unless it has been approved 

by OMB and displays a currently valid 

OMB control number. The OMB control 

numbers for EPA’s regulations in title 40 

of the CFR, after appearing in the 

Federal Register, are listed in 40 CFR 

part 9, and included on the related 

collection instrument, or form, if 

applicable. 

The information collection activities 

contained in the regulations are already 

approved under OMB control number 

2070–0029 (EPA ICR No. 0155.09), and 

the changes to the expiration date do 

not change the covered activities such 

that additional OMB review or approval 

is required. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

Pursuant to section 605(b) of the RFA 

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), I hereby certify 

that this final rule does not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

Under the RFA, small entities include 

small businesses, small organizations, 

and small governmental jurisdictions. In 

making this determination, the impact 

of concern is any significant adverse 

economic impact on small entities 

because the primary purpose of 

regulatory flexibility analysis is to 

identify and address regulatory 

alternatives ‘‘which minimize any 

significant economic impact of the rule 

on small entities.’’ 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604. 

Thus, an agency may certify under RFA 

when the rule relieves regulatory 

burden, or otherwise has no expected 

economic impact on small entities 

subject to the rule. 

The revision in this final rule will 

only synchronize the certification 

expiration dates for restricted use 

applicators and is not expected to have 

any adverse economic impacts on 

affected entities, regardless of their size. 

It does not otherwise amend or impose 

any other requirements. As such, this 

final rule will not have any adverse 

economic impact on any entities, large 

or small. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

State, local, and tribal governments 

are not regulated by this final rule, so 

it is not expected to affect these 

governments. Accordingly, pursuant to 

Title II of UMRA (2 U.S.C. 1531–1538), 

EPA has determined that this action is 

not subject to the requirements in 

sections 202 and 205 of UMRA because 

it does not contain a Federal mandate 

that may result in expenditures of $100 

million or more for State, local, and 

tribal governments, in the aggregate, or 

for the private sector in any 1 year. In 

addition, this action does not 

significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments or impose a significant 

intergovernmental mandate, as 

described in sections 203 and 204 of 

UMRA. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action will not have ‘‘federalism 

implications’’ as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999), because it is not expected to have 

a substantial direct effect on States, on 

the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Thus, Executive 

Order 13132 does not apply to this 

action. 


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39642 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 129 / Thursday, July 5, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000), because it will not have 

substantial direct effects on Indian 

tribes, on the relationship between the 

Federal Government and Indian tribes, 

or on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. This rule 

only affects some applicators of RUPs 

that are certified under an EPA federal 

plan by reducing their paperwork 

burden, and it is not expected to impact 

human health or the environment or 

impose any additional burden or 

restrictions, or otherwise affect Indian 

tribes. Thus, Executive Order 13175 

does not apply to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 

(62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) as 

applying only to those regulatory 

actions that concern health or safety 

risks, such that the analysis required 

under section 5–501 of the Executive 

Order has the potential to influence the 

regulation. This action is not subject to 

Executive Order 13045 because it does 

not establish an environmental standard 

intended to mitigate health or safety 

risks, nor is it an ‘‘economically 

significant regulatory action’’ as defined 

by Executive Order 12866. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ as defined in 

Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, 

May 22, 2001), because it is not likely 

to have a significant adverse effect on 

the supply, distribution, or use of 

energy. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) 

This action does not involve technical 

standards that would require the 

consideration of voluntary consensus 

standards pursuant to section 12(d) of 

NTTAA (15 U.S.C. 272 note). 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

This action does not have 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on minority or low-income populations 

because it does not affect the level of 

protection provided to human health or 

the environment. Therefore, this action 

does not involve special consideration 

of environmental justice-related issues 

as specified in Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

VI. Congressional Review Act 

Pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., EPA will 

submit a report containing this rule and 

other required information to the U.S. 

Senate, the U.S. House of 

Representatives, and the Comptroller 

General of the United States prior to 

publication of the rule in the Federal 

Register. This rule is not a ‘‘major rule’’ 

as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 171 

Environmental protection, Indianlands, Intergovernmental relations, 

Pesticides and pests, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: June 21, 2012. 

James Jones 

Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of 

Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. 

Therefore, 40 CFR chapter I is 

amended as follows: 

PART 171—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 171 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136i and 136w. 

■ 2. Section 171.11 is amended by 

revising paragraph (e) to read as follows: 

§ 171.11 Federal certification of pesticide 

applicators in States or on Indian 

Reservations where there is no approved 

State or Tribal certification plan in effect. 

* * * * * 

(e) Recognition of other certificates. 

The Administrator may issue a 

certificate to an individual possessing 

any other valid Federal, State, or Tribal 

certificate without further 

demonstration of competency. The 

individual shall submit the EPA 

certification form and written evidence 

of valid certification to the appropriate 

EPA Regional Office. The Administrator 

may deny issuance of such certificate if 

the standards of competency for each 

category or subcategory identified in the 

other Federal, State, or Tribal certificate 

are not sufficiently comparable to justify 

waiving further demonstration of 

competency. The Administrator may 

revoke, suspend, or modify such 

certificate if the Federal, State, or Tribal 

certificate upon which it is based is 

revoked, suspended, or modified. 

Unless suspended or revoked, a 

certificate issued under this paragraph 

is valid until the expiration date of the 

Federal, State, or Tribal certificate. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–16443 Filed 7–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

44 CFR Part 64 

[Docket ID FEMA–2012–0003; Internal 

Agency Docket No. FEMA–8235] 

Suspension of Community Eligibility 

AGENCY: Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, DHS. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule identifies 

communities where the sale of flood 

insurance has been authorized under 

the National Flood Insurance Program 

(NFIP) that are scheduled for 

suspension on the effective dates listed 

within this rule because of 

noncompliance with the floodplain 

management requirements of the 

program. If the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) receives 

documentation that the community has 

adopted the required floodplain 

management measures prior to the 

effective suspension date given in this 

rule, the suspension will not occur and 

a notice of this will be provided by 

publication in the Federal Register on a 

subsequent date. 

DATES: Effective Dates: The effective 

date of each community’s scheduled 

suspension is the third date (‘‘Susp.’’) 

listed in the third column of the 

following tables. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you want to determine whether a 

particular community was suspended 

on the suspension date or for further 

information, contact David Stearrett, 

Federal Insurance and Mitigation 

Administration, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, 500 C Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20472, (202) 646–2953. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NFIP 

enables property owners to purchase 

Federal flood insurance that is not 

otherwise generally available from 

private insurers. In return, communities 

agree to adopt and administer local 

floodplain management measures aimed 

at protecting lives and new construction 

from future flooding. Section 1315 of 

the National Flood Insurance Act of 

1968, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4022, 

prohibits the sale of NFIP flood 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES