Diflubenzuron; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, Solicitation of Public Comment, 33084-33085 [E8-13002]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 113 (Wednesday, June 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33084-33085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-13002]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0442; FRL-8366-8]


Diflubenzuron; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, 
Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA has received a specific exemption request from the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
to use the pesticide diflubenzuron (CAS No. 35367-38-5) to treat up to 
3,000 acres of alfalfa to control grasshoppers and mormon crickets. The 
applicant proposes a use which is supported by the IR-4 program and has 
been requested in 5 or more previous years, and a petition for 
tolerance has not yet been submitted to the Agency.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 26, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0442, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public 
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South 
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The 
Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2008-0442. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-
mail. The 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 e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, 
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part 
of the comment that is placed in the 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.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available in regulations.gov. To access the electronic docket, go to 
https://www.regulations.gov, select ``Advanced Search,'' then ``Docket 
Search.'' Insert the docket ID number where indicated and select the 
``Submit'' button. Follow the instructions on the regulations.gov 
website to view the docket index or access available documents. 
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 material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either in the electronic docket at https://
www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPP 
Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 
2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of operation of this 
Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 
305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Libby Pemberton, Registration Division 
(7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone 
number: (703) 308-9364; fax number: (703) 605-0781; e-mail address: 
pemberton.libby@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 an 
agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. 
Potentially affected entities may include, but are not limited to:
     Crop production (NAICS code 111).
     Animal production (NAICS code 112).
     Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).
     Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).
    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. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 
codes have been provided to assist you and others in determining 
whether this action might apply to certain entities. 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. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1.  Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through

[[Page 33085]]

www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as 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.
    2.  Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and 
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of 
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    Under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the discretion of the 
Administrator, a Federal or State agency may be exempted from any 
provision of FIFRA if the Administrator determines that emergency 
conditions exist which require the exemption. U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) 
has requested the Administrator to issue a specific exemption for the 
use of diflubenzuron on alfalfa to control grasshoppers and Mormon 
crickets. Information in accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was submitted 
as part of this request.
    As part of this request, the Applicant asserts that use 
diflubenzuron is requested to protect pollinators of Spalding's 
catchfly, a threatened plant species endemic to the proposed treatment 
area in Montana. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recovery plan for 
Spalding's catchfly recommends that grasshopper control programs avoid 
the use of broad spectrum insecticides (such as carbaryl and malathion) 
that will affect native bee species. Since diflubenzuron is not 
registered for use on alfalfa, current USDA/APHIS policy is to include 
a 500-foot buffer around these fields during application to insure no 
residues occur on alfalfa. Since the alfalfa fields are interspersed 
within the rangeland spray block, the resulting treatments will create 
several untreated areas that will allow grasshoppers to disperse from 
untreated alfalfa fields and buffer strips into previously treated 
areas and also damage untreated alfalfa hay.
    The Applicant proposes the use of diflubenzuron on 3,000 acres 
alfalfa in Montana to control grasshoppers and Mormon crickets. The 
proposed areas for treatment are alfalfa fields that are contained 
within larger application blocks of rangeland on, or adjacent to, the 
Flathead Reservation. The Flathead Reservation is located in Sanders, 
Lake, Flathead and Missoula Counties in Montana. Applications will 
occur primarily on the Flathead Nation near Irvine Flats in Sanders 
county Montana. The area is primarily rangeland with some production of 
alfalfa grown under irrigation. Aerial applications will be made using 
fixed wing aircraft making broadcast applications or by using Reduced 
Area Agent Treatments (RAAT). This method uses alternating swath 
applications to the spray block providing effective control while 
reducing environmental loading. The rate of application is 0.016 lb 
active ingredient (ai) per acre at the full rate and 0.012 lb active 
ingredient per acre using the RAAT. One application of a 22% ai product 
will be made between May and September 2008. A maximum of a 48 lb. ai 
will be applied.
    This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the 
application itself. The regulations governing section 18 of FIFRA 
require publication of a notice of receipt of an application for a 
specific exemption proposing a use which is supported by the IR-4 
program and has been requested in 5 or more previous years, and a 
petition for tolerance has not yet been submitted to the Agency.
    The Agency, will review and consider all comments received during 
the comment period in determining whether to issue the specific 
exemption requested by the USDA/APHIS.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: May 28, 2008.
Lois A. Rossi,
Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-13002 Filed 6-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S