[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 82286-82287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25739]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 158

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0428; FRL-11111-01-OCSPP]


Pesticides; Petition Seeking Rulemaking for Registration of 
Neonicotinoid Insecticides and Other Systemic Insecticides; Notice of 
Availability and Request for Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
availability of and seeking public comment on a petition received from 
the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the 
American Bird Conservancy (ABC) requesting that the Agency initiate a 
rulemaking for neonicotinoid insecticides and other systemic 
insecticides. PEER and ABC believe the Agency should amend the existing 
regulations under the Federal Insecticide, Rodenticide, and Fungicide 
Act (FIFRA) to require all applicants and registrants of neonicotinoid 
and other systemic insecticides to provide performance (efficacy) data 
to the Agency in applications for registration and during registration 
review.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 23, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0428, through https://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. Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the 
docket, along with more information about dockets generally, is 
available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caleb Hawkins, Office of Chemical 
Safety and Pollution Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 
(202) 566-1430; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2a424b5d4143445904494b464f486a4f5a4b044d455c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cfa7aeb8a4a6a1bce1acaea3aaad8faabfaee1a8a0b9">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. 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 pesticide 
registrants, environmental,

[[Page 82287]]

human health, and agricultural advocates, pesticide users, and members 
of the public interested in the use of pesticides. This listing is not 
intended to be exhaustive but rather provides a guide for readers 
regarding entities likely to be affected by his action. Because others 
may also be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all 
the specific entities that may be affected by this action.

II. What action is the Agency taking?

    EPA requests public comment on a petition received from PEER and 
ABC that asks EPA to take the following actions:
    <bullet> Amend 40 CFR 158.400(e)(1) to require the submission of 
product performance data for neonicotinoid and other systemic 
insecticides, and
    <bullet> Amend 40 CFR 158.400(e)(1) to require that, if not already 
submitted to the Agency, existing registrants of a neonicotinoid or 
other systemic insecticides submit efficacy within 180 days of the 
promulgation of the rule.
    A copy of the petition is available in the docket.

III. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

A. Submitting CBI

    Do not submit Confidential Business Information (CBI) to EPA 
through regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be 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.

B. Multimedia Submissions

    Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by 
a written comment. The written comment is considered the official 
comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. 
EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system).

C. Tips for Preparing Your Comments

    When preparing and submitting your comments, see the commenting 
tips at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. Please note 
that once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the 
docket. EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket.

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

    Dated: November 16, 2023.
Michal Freedhoff,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2023-25739 Filed 11-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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