Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0624-0002
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Pesticide Emergency Exemptions: Agency Decisions and State and Federal Agency Crisis Declarations
Posted Date: 2022-12-02T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 231 (Friday, December 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74144-74146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26249]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0624; FRL-10416-01-OCSPP]

Pesticide Emergency Exemptions; Agency Decisions and State and 
Federal Agency Crisis Declarations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA has granted emergency exemptions under the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for use of 
pesticides as listed in this notice. The exemptions were granted during 
the period July 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022, to control unforeseen 
pest outbreaks.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Rosenblatt, Registration 
Division (7505T), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001; main telephone number: (202) 566-1030; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
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:
     Crop production (NAICS code 111).
     Animal production (NAICS code 112).
     Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).
     Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).
    If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this 
action to a particular entity, consult the person listed at the end of 
the emergency exemption.

[[Page 74145]]

B. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

    The docket for this action, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0624, is available at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Office of Pesticide Programs Regulatory 
Public Docket (OPP Docket) in the Environmental Protection Agency 
Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William Jefferson Clinton Bldg., 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 and the OPP Docket is (202) 566-1744. Please review the 
visitor instructions and additional information about the docket 
available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

II. Background

    EPA has granted emergency exemptions to the following State and 
Federal agencies. The emergency exemptions may take the following form: 
Crisis, public health, quarantine, or specific.
    Under FIFRA section 18 (7 U.S.C. 136p), EPA can authorize the use 
of a pesticide when emergency conditions exist. Authorizations 
(commonly called emergency exemptions) are granted to State and Federal 
agencies and are of four types:
    1. A ``specific exemption'' authorizes use of a pesticide against 
specific pests for a specific crop/site on a limited acreage, or other 
unit for treatment (e.g., square footage, cartons of produce in a 
particular State. Most emergency exemptions are specific exemptions.
    2. ``Quarantine'' and ``public health'' exemptions are emergency 
exemptions issued for quarantine or public health purposes. These are 
requested less frequently than specific exemptions.
    3. A ``crisis exemption'' is initiated by a State or Federal agency 
(and is concurred upon by EPA) when there is insufficient time to 
request and obtain EPA permission for emergency use of a pesticide 
under one of the other types of emergency exemptions.
    EPA may deny an emergency exemption request: If the State or 
Federal agency cannot demonstrate that an emergency exists, if the use 
poses unacceptable risks to the environment, or if EPA cannot reach a 
conclusion that the proposed pesticide use is likely to result in ``a 
reasonable certainty of no harm'' to human health, including exposure 
of infants and children to residues of the pesticide.
    If the emergency use of the pesticide on a food or feed commodity 
would result in pesticide chemical residues, EPA establishes a time-
limited tolerance meeting the ``reasonable certainty of no harm 
standard'' of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
    In this document: EPA identifies the State or Federal agency 
granted the exemption, the type of exemption, the pesticide authorized, 
the pests, the crop or use for which authorized, number of acres or 
other unit for treatment (if applicable), and the effective date of the 
exemption. EPA also gives the Federal Register citation for the time-
limited tolerance, if any, and notes when a Notice of Receipt (if 
required under 40 CFR 166.24) was published in the Federal Register.

III. Emergency Exemptions

A. U.S. States and Territories

Arkansas
Department of Agriculture
    Specific exemption: EPA authorized the use of thiamethoxam on a 
maximum of 450,000 acres of rice to control rice stink bug. Time-
limited tolerances in connection with a previous action support this 
emergency use and are established in 40 CFR 180.565(b). The 
authorization was effective July 27, 2022.
Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
    Specific exemption: EPA authorized the use of clothianidin on a 
maximum of 125,376 acres of immature (3 to 5 years old) citrus trees to 
manage the transmission of Huanglongbing (HLB) disease vectored by the 
Asian citrus psyllid. A time-limited tolerance in connection with this 
action supports this emergency use and is established in 40 CFR 
180.586(b). The authorization was effective September 28, 2022.
Louisiana
Department of Agriculture and Forestry
    Quarantine exemption: EPA authorized the use of fipronil to control 
an invasive crazy ant species (commonly referred to as the Tawny Crazy 
Ant) around the outside of manmade structures, in parishes where the 
ant has been confirmed. The authorization was effective September 27, 
2022.
Michigan
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
    Quarantine exemption: EPA authorized the use of pyrethrins and 
piperonyl butoxide to eradicate Red Swamp Crayfish on a maximum 6.98 
acres across sixteen ponds in Southeast Michigan. This is a non-food/
non-feed use and the authorization was effective August 24, 2022.
Mississippi
Department of Agriculture and Commerce
    Specific exemption: EPA authorized the use of thiamethoxam on a 
maximum of 50,000 acres of rice to control rice stink bug. Time-limited 
tolerances in connection with a previous action support this emergency 
use and are established in 40 CFR 180.565(b). The authorization was 
effective July 28, 2022.
    Quarantine exemption: EPA authorized the use of fipronil to control 
an invasive crazy ant species (commonly referred to as the Tawny Crazy 
Ant) around the outside of manmade structures, in parishes where the 
ant has been confirmed. The authorization was effective September 27, 
2022.
Missouri
Department of Agriculture
    Specific exemption: EPA authorized the use of thiamethoxam on a 
maximum of 45,000 acres of rice to control rice stink bug. Time-limited 
tolerances in connection with a previous action support this emergency 
use and are established in 40 CFR 180.565(b). The authorization was 
effective August 12, 2022.
Texas
Department of Agriculture
    Quarantine exemption: EPA authorized the use of fipronil to control 
an invasive crazy ant species (commonly referred to as the Tawny Crazy 
Ant) around the outside of manmade structures, in parishes where the 
ant has been confirmed. The authorization was effective September 27, 
2022.

B. Federal Departments and Agencies

United States Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
    Quarantine Exemption: EPA authorized the use of acetic acid 
(vinegar) on hard nonporous surfaces to control African swine fever 
virus. The authorization was effective September 9, 2022.
    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.

[[Page 74146]]

    Dated: November 28, 2022.
Daniel Rosenblatt,
Acting Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2022-26249 Filed 12-1-22; 8:45 am]
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