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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 231 (Monday, December 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95208-95209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28121]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2024-0251; FRL-12440-01-OGC]

Proposed Settlement Agreement, Federal Insecticide, Rodenticide, 
and Fungicide Act

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement and request for public 
comment.

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SUMMARY: Consistent with Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements to 
Resolve Environmental Claims Against the Agency (March 18, 2022), EPA 
is giving notice of and seeking comment on a proposed settlement 
agreement for In re Center for Biological Diversity, No. 21-1270 (D.C. 
Circuit) and Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental 
Protection Agency, No. 23-1329 (D.C. Circuit). Defendant-Intervenors--
who represent the registrants for products contain cyantraniliprole--do 
not oppose this proposed settlement agreement.

DATES: Comments are due by January 2, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments online at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Instructions: All comments should include the Docket ID (EPA-HQ-
OGC-2024-0251) for this action. Submitted comments will be posted 
without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. For detailed instructions on commenting, see the 
``Public Comment on the Proposed Settlement Agreement'' heading of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jori Reilly-Diakun (Pesticides and 
Toxic Substances Law Office, Office of General Counsel, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency), (202) 564-9567, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining a Copy of the Proposed Stipulated Settlement Agreement

    The official public docket for this action contains a copy of the 
proposed settlement agreement. The official public docket is available 
for public viewing at the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) 
Docket in the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center 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 OEI Docket is (202) 
566-1752.
    The electronic version of the public docket for this action also 
contains a copy of the proposed settlement agreement. The electronic 
version of the public docket is available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-HQ-OGC-2024-0251.

II. Background on the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    This proposed settlement agreement follows petitions for review in 
the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. 
Circuit) of EPA's decisions granting pesticide registrations and 
amendments to those registrations under the Federal Insecticide, 
Rodenticide, and Fungicide Act (FIFRA) for products containing the 
active ingredient cyantraniliprole.
    On June 30, 2017, the D.C. Circuit addressed the initial petition 
for review and remanded the registration decisions to EPA without 
vacatur for EPA to address its obligations under the Endangered Species 
Act (ESA). Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 861 F.3d 174 (D.C. Cir. 2017). In 2021, Petitioners filed a 
writ of mandamus with the D.C. Circuit, seeking to compel action by EPA 
in accordance with the Court's 2017 order. On November 22, 2022, the 
D.C. Circuit held that EPA had unreasonably delayed in complying with 
its 2017 order and ordered EPA to complete effects determinations for 
cyantraniliprole and replace its previous registration orders with 
orders consistent with the ESA by September 2023. In re Center for 
Biological Diversity, 53 F.4th 665 (D.C. Cir. 2022).
    In September 2023, EPA completed its final biological evaluation 
for cyantraniliprole and initiated ESA section 7 consultation with the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries 
Service, before granting registrants' requests to amend the 
registrations for products containing cyantraniliprole. See EPA-HQ-OPP-
2011-0668. EPA filed a Notice of Completion with the D.C. Circuit in In 
re Center for Biological Diversity on October 4, 2023. Petitioners 
filed a new petition for review challenging EPA's September 2023 
registration amendments. Center for Biological Diversity v. 
Environmental Protection Agency, No. 23-1329 (D.C. Circuit).
    This proposed settlement agreement would resolve any remaining 
claims against EPA in these cases. In the proposed settlement, EPA 
would agree to implement any final Biological Opinion for 
cyantraniliprole no later than 12 months from the date that each 
Service issues a final Biological Opinion or the deadline set by each 
Service for implementing its final Biological Opinion--whichever is 
earlier--with several options for extension, if appropriate.

III. Public Comment on the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    EPA will accept written comments on the proposed settlement until 
January 2, 2025 from anyone who is not a named party to the litigation 
in question. EPA or the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) may decide to 
withdraw consent to enter the proposed settlement agreement if the 
comments indicate that such consent is inappropriate. However, the 
terms of the proposed settlement agreement will be affirmed unless EPA 
or DOJ so decide based on the comments.

[[Page 95209]]

    Please submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2024-0251, through https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from this docket. EPA may publish 
any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (e.g., audio, video) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. EPA will consider the written comment to be the 
official comment, and it 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 (e.g., on the web, 
cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission 
methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. For additional information about submitting information 
identified as CBI, please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
    If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name, mailing address, and an email address or other 
contact information in the body of your comment. This ensures that you 
can be identified as the submitter of the comment and allows EPA to 
contact you in case EPA cannot read your comment due to technical 
difficulties or needs further information on the substance of your 
comment. Any identifying or contact information provided in the body of 
a comment will be included as part of the comment that is placed in the 
official public docket and made available in EPA's electronic public 
docket. 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.
    Use of the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments 
to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. 
The electronic public docket system is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means EPA will not know your identity, email address, or other 
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
    Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified 
comment period. Comments received after the close of the comment period 
will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these late 
comments.

    Dated: November 25, 2024.
Randolph L. Hill,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2024-28121 Filed 11-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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