Pesticides; Draft Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Herbicide Resistance Management Labeling, Education, Training, and Stewardship, 35767-35769 [2016-13157]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 107 / Friday, June 3, 2016 / Notices
35767
types of pesticides, we plan to seek
input from the public.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
II. Overview of the Agency’s Effort To
Address Pesticide Resistance
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
under docket identification (ID) number
EPA–HQ–OPP–2016–0242.
III. What guidance does this PR Notice
provide?
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2016–0226; FRL–9946–53]
Pesticides can be used to control a
variety of pests, such as insects, weeds,
rodents, bacteria, fungi, etc. Over time
many pesticides have gradually lost
their effectiveness because pests have
developed resistance—a significant
decrease in sensitivity to a pesticide,
which reduces the field performance of
these pesticides. The Agency is
concerned about resistance issues and
believes that managing the development
of pesticide resistance, in conjunction
with alternative pest-management
strategies and Integrated Pest
Management programs, is an important
part of sustainable pest management. To
address the growing issue of resistance
and preserve the useful life of
pesticides, the Agency is beginning to
embark on a more widespread effort and
several activities that are aimed at
combating and slowing the development
of pesticide resistance.
One such activity, which is the
subject of this FR Notice, is today’s
release and request for comment on
draft PR Notice 2016–X, ‘‘Guidance for
Pesticide Registrants on Pesticide
Resistance Management Labeling.’’ Draft
PR Notice 2016–X updates PR Notice
2001 and applies to all conventional,
agricultural pesticides (i.e., herbicides,
fungicides, bactericides, insecticides,
and acaricides). This draft PR Notice
focuses on pesticide labels and is aimed
at improving information about how
pesticide users can minimize and
manage pest resistance.
Another such activity, involves the
release of draft PR Notice 2016–XX,
‘‘Guidance for Herbicide Resistance
Management Labeling, Education,
Training, and Stewardship.’’ Draft PR
Notice 2016–XX applies to herbicides,
and communicates the Agency’s current
thinking and approach to address
herbicide-resistant weeds by providing
guidance on labeling, education,
training, and stewardship for herbicides
undergoing registration review or
registration (i.e., new herbicide actives,
new uses proposed for use on herbicideresistant crops, or other case-specific
registration actions). Draft PR Notice
2016–XX will also be published in
today’s Federal Register. In the future,
the Agency plans to evaluate other types
of pesticides (e.g. fungicides,
bactericides, insecticides, and
acaricides) to determine whether and
what guidance may be appropriate for
these types pesticides. If the Agency
releases future guidance on these other
Draft PR Notice 2016–X, which
revises and updates PR Notice 2001–5,
applies to all conventional, agricultural
pesticides (i.e., herbicides, fungicides,
bactericides, insecticides and
acaricides). The updates in draft PR
Notice 2016–X focus on pesticides
labels and are aimed at improving
information about how pesticide users
can minimize and manage pest
resistance. The draft PR Notice 2016–X
updates PR Notice 2001–5 with the
following three categories of changes:
• Provides additional guidance, and
recommended format, for resistance
management statements or information
to place on labels.
• Includes references to external
technical resources for guidance on
resistance management (e.g.,
professional scientific societies,
resistance action committees for
different types of pesticides).
• Updates the instructions on how to
submit changes to existing labels in
order to enhance resistance management
language.
This draft PR Notice also references
draft revisions to Chapter 11.VI.G of
EPA’s Label Review Manual (LRM),
which illustrates the generic format for
resistance management labeling along
with examples of various labeling
scenarios that registrants may
encounter. The Agency requests
comments on the updates to this draft
PR Notice and this chapter of the LRM.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
21:20 Jun 02, 2016
Jkt 238001
IV. Do PR Notices contain binding
requirements?
The PR Notice discussed in this
notice is intended to provide guidance
to EPA personnel and decision-makers,
as well as pesticide registrants. While
the requirements in the statute and
Agency regulations are binding on EPA
and the applicants, this PR Notice is not
binding on either EPA or pesticide
registrants, and EPA may depart from
the guidance where circumstances
warrant and without prior notice.
Likewise, pesticide registrants may
assert that the guidance is not
appropriate generally or not applicable
to a specific pesticide or situation.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.
Dated: May 23, 2016.
Jack E. Housenger,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2016–13155 Filed 6–2–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Pesticides; Draft Guidance for
Pesticide Registrants on Herbicide
Resistance Management Labeling,
Education, Training, and Stewardship
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
The Agency is announcing
the availability of and seeking public
comment on a draft Pesticide
Registration Notice (PR Notice) entitled
‘‘Guidance for Herbicide Resistance
Management Labeling, Education,
Training, and Stewardship.’’ PR Notices
are issued by the Office of Pesticide
Programs (OPP) to inform pesticide
registrants and other interested persons
about important policies, procedures,
and registration-related decisions, and
serve to provide guidance to pesticide
registrants and OPP personnel. This
draft PR Notice (2016–XX)
communicates the Agency’s approach to
addressing herbicide-resistant weeds by
providing guidance on labeling,
education, training, and stewardship for
herbicides undergoing registration
review or registration (i.e., new
herbicide and actives, new uses
proposed for use on herbicide-resistant
crops, or other case-specific registration
actions.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before August 2, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2016–0226, by
one of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 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.
• Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental
Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/
DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001.
• Hand Delivery: To make special
arrangements for hand delivery or
delivery of boxed information, please
follow the instructions at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
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: Bill
Chism, Biological and Economic
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\03JNN1.SGM
03JNN1
35768
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 107 / Friday, June 3, 2016 / Notices
Analysis Division (7503P), Office of
Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001;
telephone number: (703) 308–8136;
email address: chism.bill@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This action is directed to the public
in general. Although this action may be
of particular interest to those persons
who are required to submit data under
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) or are required
to register pesticides. Since other
entities may also be interested, the
Agency has not attempted to describe all
the specific entities that may be affected
by this action.
B. What should I consider as I prepare
my comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this
information to EPA through
regulations.gov or email. 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 preparing and submitting your
comments, see the commenting tips at
https://www.epa.gov/dockets/
comments.html.
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
C. How can I get copies of this
document and other related
information?
A copy of draft PR Notice 2016–XX,
‘‘Guidance for Herbicide Resistance
Management Labeling, Education,
Training, and Stewardship’’ and any
related or supporting information are
available in the docket under docket
identification (ID) number EPA–HQ–
OPP–2016–0226.
II. Overview of the Agency’s Effort to
Address Pesticide Resistance
Pesticides can be used to control a
variety of pests, such as insects, weeds,
rodents, bacteria, fungi, etc. Over time
many pesticides have gradually lost
VerDate Sep<11>2014
21:20 Jun 02, 2016
Jkt 238001
their effectiveness because pests have
developed resistance—a significant
decrease in sensitivity to a pesticide,
which reduces the field performance of
these pesticides. The Agency is
concerned about resistance issues and
believes that managing the development
of pesticide resistance, in conjunction
with alternative pest-management
strategies and Integrated Pest
Management programs, is an important
part of sustainable pest management. To
address the growing issue of resistance
and preserve the useful life of
pesticides, the Agency is beginning to
embark on a more widespread effort and
several activities that are aimed at
combating and slowing the development
of pesticide resistance.
One such activity, which is the
subject of this FR Notice, is today’s
release and request for comment on
draft PR Notice 2016–XX, ‘‘Guidance for
Herbicide Resistance Management
Labeling, Education, Training, and
Stewardship.’’ Draft PR Notice 2016–
XX, which only applies to herbicides,
communicates the Agency’s current
thinking and approach to address
herbicide-resistant weeds by providing
guidance on labeling, education,
training, and stewardship for herbicides
undergoing registration review or
registration (i.e., new herbicide actives,
new uses proposed for use on herbicideresistant crops, or other case-specific
registration actions). It is part of a
holistic, proactive approach to slow the
development and spread of herbicideresistant weeds, and prolong the useful
lifespan of herbicides and related
technology. The Agency is focusing on
the more holistic guidance for
herbicides first because they are the
most widely used agricultural
chemicals, no new herbicide
mechanism of action has been
developed in last 30 years, and
herbicide-resistant weeds are rapidly
increasing. In the future, the Agency
plans to evaluate other types of
pesticides (e.g., fungicides, bactericides,
insecticides, and acaricides) to
determine whether and what guidance
may be appropriate for these types
pesticides. If the Agency releases future
guidance on these other types of
pesticides, we plan to seek input from
the public.
Another such activity, involves the
release of draft PR Notice 2016–X,
‘‘Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on
Pesticide Resistance Management
Labeling. Draft PR Notice 2016–X,
which updates PR Notice 2001–5,
applies to all conventional, agricultural
pesticides (i.e., herbicides, fungicides,
bactericides, insecticides, and
acaricides). Draft PR Notice 2016–X
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
focuses on pesticide labels and is aimed
at improving information about how
pesticide users can minimize and
manage pest resistance. This draft PR
Notice will also be published in today’s
Federal Register.
III. Background on Herbicide
Resistance
For the purposes of draft PR Notice
2016–XX and this FR Notice, the
Agency defines herbicide resistance as
the inherited ability of a plant to survive
and reproduce following exposure to a
dose of herbicide normally lethal to the
wild type. Resistance may be naturally
occurring or induced by such
techniques as genetic engineering or
selection of variants produced by tissue
culture or mutagenesis.
The development and spread of
herbicide-resistant weeds in agriculture
is a widespread problem that has the
potential to fundamentally change
production practices in United States
agriculture. While herbicide-resistant
weeds have been known since the
1950s, the number of species and their
geographical extent, has been increasing
rapidly in the last decade. As of March
2016, Heap reports that there are 249
weed species with confirmed herbicide
resistance worldwide and 80 unique
weed species with herbicide resistance
in the United States (Heap, 2016).
Considering that some weed species
have developed resistance to more than
one mechanism of action (MOA)
independently, there are 155 weed
species/MOA combinations with
confirmed resistance (Heap, 2016).
These 155 combinations have shown
resistance to herbicides with 18
different MOAs. In the United States, 48
states have reported the presence of
herbicide-resistant weeds and there are
over 80 crops and sites (e.g. roadsides,
pastures, and railways) with herbicideresistant weeds.
As noted earlier, draft PR Notice
2016–XX primarily focuses on
herbicides at this time for several
reasons. First, herbicides are the most
widely used agricultural chemicals.
Over 285 million acres were treated on
nearly 800,000 farm operations in 2012
(USDA, 2014). Second, unlike
fungicides and insecticides, there have
been no new herbicide MOAs
developed in the last 30 years.
Therefore, users do not have a new
MOA to control herbicide-resistant
weeds and it’s important to protect the
long term efficacy of these chemistries.
Third, the number of herbicide-resistant
weeds and the affected acreage infested
is rapidly increasing. Finally, growers
are facing severe economic impacts from
E:\FR\FM\03JNN1.SGM
03JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 107 / Friday, June 3, 2016 / Notices
herbicide-resistant weeds with up to
100% crop loss in some cases.
IV. What guidance does this PR Notice
provide?
This draft PR Notice communicates
the Agency’s approach to addressing
herbicide-resistant weeds by providing
guidance on labeling, education,
training, and stewardship for herbicides
undergoing registration or registration
review. The Agency’s guidance divides
28 herbicide MOAs into three categories
of concern (low, moderate, high) based
on the risk of developing herbicideresistant weeds. The guidance also
provides 11 elements that are focused
on labeling, education, training, and
stewardship strategies. Herbicides with
the least concern for developing
herbicide-resistant weeds will have the
fewest resistance management elements,
and herbicides with the greatest concern
will have the most elements. The
guidance in this draft PR Notice 2016–
XX is intended to provide herbicide
users and registrants with useful
strategies that, when implemented, will
slow herbicide resistance and prolong
the useful life of herbicides. The
beneficiaries of this draft PR Notice will
be growers of crops that are, or may be,
affected by herbicide-resistant weed and
the registrants of herbicides. This draft
PR Notice is applicable to all herbicides
regulated by the Agency. Once the
Agency receives and considers public
comments on this draft PR Notice, we
expect to revise and finalize the draft PR
Notice by late 2016.
V. Do PR Notices contain binding
requirements?
The PR Notice discussed in this FR
Notice is intended to provide guidance
to EPA personnel and decision-makers,
as well as pesticide registrants. While
the requirements in the statute and
Agency regulations are binding on EPA
and the applicants, this PR Notice is not
binding on either EPA or pesticide
registrants, and EPA may depart from
the guidance where circumstances
warrant and without prior notice.
Likewise, pesticide registrants may
assert that the guidance is not
appropriate generally or not applicable
to a specific pesticide or situation.
35769
document is not physically located in
the docket. For assistance in locating
these other documents, please consult
the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
1. Heap, I. 2016. International Survey of
Herbicide-resistant Weeds. March 11,
2016. https://www.weedscience.org.
2. USDA. 2014. 2012 Census of Agriculture.
United States Department of Agriculture.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.
Dated: May 23, 2016.
Jack E. Housenger,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2016–13157 Filed 6–2–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
Deletion of Consent Agenda Items
From Sunshine Act Meeting
VI. References
May 25, 2016.
The following is a listing of the
documents that are specifically
referenced in this document. The docket
includes these documents and other
information considered by EPA,
including documents that are referenced
within the documents that are included
in the docket, even if the referenced
The following consent agenda has
been deleted from the list of items
scheduled for consideration at the
Wednesday, May 25, 2016, Open
Meeting and previously listed in the
Commission’s Notice of May 18, 2016.
Items 1, 5 and 6 on the consent agenda
have been adopted by the Commission.
CONSENT AGENDA
1 ....................
MEDIA ..............................
2 ....................
ENFORCEMENT ..............
3 ....................
ENFORCEMENT ..............
4 ....................
ENFORCEMENT ..............
5 ....................
ENFORCEMENT ..............
6 ....................
ENFORCEMENT ..............
Federal Communication Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
TITLE: PMCM TV, LLC Licensee of Station WJLP(TV), Middletown Township, New Jersey.
SUMMARY: The Commission will consider an Order concerning a Consent Decree entered into between the Commission and PMCM TV, LLC regarding compliance with children’s programming
requirements.
TITLE: Enforcement Bureau Action.
SUMMARY: The Commission will consider whether to take an enforcement action.
TITLE: Enforcement Bureau Action.
SUMMARY: The Commission will consider whether to take an enforcement action.
TITLE: Enforcement Bureau Action.
SUMMARY: The Commission will consider whether to take an enforcement action.
TITLE: Enforcement Bureau Action.
SUMMARY: The Commission will consider whether to take an enforcement action.
TITLE: Enforcement Bureau Action.
SUMMARY: The Commission will consider whether to take an enforcement action.
GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM
RESTORATION COUNCIL
[Docket No.: 106032016–1111–02]
[FR Doc. 2016–13089 Filed 6–2–16; 8:45 am]
Notice of Funding Availability for the
Spill Impact Component of the
RESTORE Act
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
Gulf Coast Ecosystem
Restoration Council (Council).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem
Restoration Council (Council)
announces the Notice of Funding
Availability for the Spill Impact
Component of the of the Resources and
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
21:20 Jun 02, 2016
Jkt 238001
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist
Opportunities, and Revived Economies
of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012
(RESTORE Act), 33 U.S.C. 1321(t)(3).
DATES: State Expenditure Plans (SEPs),
the first step in the process, will be
accepted on a rolling basis, starting with
the date of publication of the NOFA on
Grants.gov, May 25, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kristin Smith, Council staff, telephone
number: 504–444–3558.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Council is authorized to award grants
pursuant to the Spill Impact Component
of the Resources and Ecosystems
E:\FR\FM\03JNN1.SGM
03JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35767-35769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13157]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0226; FRL-9946-53]
Pesticides; Draft Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Herbicide
Resistance Management Labeling, Education, Training, and Stewardship
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Agency is announcing the availability of and seeking
public comment on a draft Pesticide Registration Notice (PR Notice)
entitled ``Guidance for Herbicide Resistance Management Labeling,
Education, Training, and Stewardship.'' PR Notices are issued by the
Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to inform pesticide registrants and
other interested persons about important policies, procedures, and
registration-related decisions, and serve to provide guidance to
pesticide registrants and OPP personnel. This draft PR Notice (2016-XX)
communicates the Agency's approach to addressing herbicide-resistant
weeds by providing guidance on labeling, education, training, and
stewardship for herbicides undergoing registration review or
registration (i.e., new herbicide and actives, new uses proposed for
use on herbicide-resistant crops, or other case-specific registration
actions.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 2, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0226, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: 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.
Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket
Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC
20460-0001.
Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the
instructions at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.
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: Bill Chism, Biological and Economic
[[Page 35768]]
Analysis Division (7503P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8136; email address:
chism.bill@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This action is directed to the public in general. Although this
action may be of particular interest to those persons who are required
to submit data under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) or are required to register pesticides. Since
other entities may also be interested, the Agency has not attempted to
describe all the specific entities that may be affected by this action.
B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through
regulations.gov or email. 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 preparing and submitting
your comments, see the commenting tips at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.
C. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?
A copy of draft PR Notice 2016-XX, ``Guidance for Herbicide
Resistance Management Labeling, Education, Training, and Stewardship''
and any related or supporting information are available in the docket
under docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0226.
II. Overview of the Agency's Effort to Address Pesticide Resistance
Pesticides can be used to control a variety of pests, such as
insects, weeds, rodents, bacteria, fungi, etc. Over time many
pesticides have gradually lost their effectiveness because pests have
developed resistance--a significant decrease in sensitivity to a
pesticide, which reduces the field performance of these pesticides. The
Agency is concerned about resistance issues and believes that managing
the development of pesticide resistance, in conjunction with
alternative pest-management strategies and Integrated Pest Management
programs, is an important part of sustainable pest management. To
address the growing issue of resistance and preserve the useful life of
pesticides, the Agency is beginning to embark on a more widespread
effort and several activities that are aimed at combating and slowing
the development of pesticide resistance.
One such activity, which is the subject of this FR Notice, is
today's release and request for comment on draft PR Notice 2016-XX,
``Guidance for Herbicide Resistance Management Labeling, Education,
Training, and Stewardship.'' Draft PR Notice 2016-XX, which only
applies to herbicides, communicates the Agency's current thinking and
approach to address herbicide-resistant weeds by providing guidance on
labeling, education, training, and stewardship for herbicides
undergoing registration review or registration (i.e., new herbicide
actives, new uses proposed for use on herbicide-resistant crops, or
other case-specific registration actions). It is part of a holistic,
proactive approach to slow the development and spread of herbicide-
resistant weeds, and prolong the useful lifespan of herbicides and
related technology. The Agency is focusing on the more holistic
guidance for herbicides first because they are the most widely used
agricultural chemicals, no new herbicide mechanism of action has been
developed in last 30 years, and herbicide-resistant weeds are rapidly
increasing. In the future, the Agency plans to evaluate other types of
pesticides (e.g., fungicides, bactericides, insecticides, and
acaricides) to determine whether and what guidance may be appropriate
for these types pesticides. If the Agency releases future guidance on
these other types of pesticides, we plan to seek input from the public.
Another such activity, involves the release of draft PR Notice
2016-X, ``Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Pesticide Resistance
Management Labeling. Draft PR Notice 2016-X, which updates PR Notice
2001-5, applies to all conventional, agricultural pesticides (i.e.,
herbicides, fungicides, bactericides, insecticides, and acaricides).
Draft PR Notice 2016-X focuses on pesticide labels and is aimed at
improving information about how pesticide users can minimize and manage
pest resistance. This draft PR Notice will also be published in today's
Federal Register.
III. Background on Herbicide Resistance
For the purposes of draft PR Notice 2016-XX and this FR Notice, the
Agency defines herbicide resistance as the inherited ability of a plant
to survive and reproduce following exposure to a dose of herbicide
normally lethal to the wild type. Resistance may be naturally occurring
or induced by such techniques as genetic engineering or selection of
variants produced by tissue culture or mutagenesis.
The development and spread of herbicide-resistant weeds in
agriculture is a widespread problem that has the potential to
fundamentally change production practices in United States agriculture.
While herbicide-resistant weeds have been known since the 1950s, the
number of species and their geographical extent, has been increasing
rapidly in the last decade. As of March 2016, Heap reports that there
are 249 weed species with confirmed herbicide resistance worldwide and
80 unique weed species with herbicide resistance in the United States
(Heap, 2016). Considering that some weed species have developed
resistance to more than one mechanism of action (MOA) independently,
there are 155 weed species/MOA combinations with confirmed resistance
(Heap, 2016). These 155 combinations have shown resistance to
herbicides with 18 different MOAs. In the United States, 48 states have
reported the presence of herbicide-resistant weeds and there are over
80 crops and sites (e.g. roadsides, pastures, and railways) with
herbicide-resistant weeds.
As noted earlier, draft PR Notice 2016-XX primarily focuses on
herbicides at this time for several reasons. First, herbicides are the
most widely used agricultural chemicals. Over 285 million acres were
treated on nearly 800,000 farm operations in 2012 (USDA, 2014). Second,
unlike fungicides and insecticides, there have been no new herbicide
MOAs developed in the last 30 years. Therefore, users do not have a new
MOA to control herbicide-resistant weeds and it's important to protect
the long term efficacy of these chemistries. Third, the number of
herbicide-resistant weeds and the affected acreage infested is rapidly
increasing. Finally, growers are facing severe economic impacts from
[[Page 35769]]
herbicide-resistant weeds with up to 100% crop loss in some cases.
IV. What guidance does this PR Notice provide?
This draft PR Notice communicates the Agency's approach to
addressing herbicide-resistant weeds by providing guidance on labeling,
education, training, and stewardship for herbicides undergoing
registration or registration review. The Agency's guidance divides 28
herbicide MOAs into three categories of concern (low, moderate, high)
based on the risk of developing herbicide-resistant weeds. The guidance
also provides 11 elements that are focused on labeling, education,
training, and stewardship strategies. Herbicides with the least concern
for developing herbicide-resistant weeds will have the fewest
resistance management elements, and herbicides with the greatest
concern will have the most elements. The guidance in this draft PR
Notice 2016-XX is intended to provide herbicide users and registrants
with useful strategies that, when implemented, will slow herbicide
resistance and prolong the useful life of herbicides. The beneficiaries
of this draft PR Notice will be growers of crops that are, or may be,
affected by herbicide-resistant weed and the registrants of herbicides.
This draft PR Notice is applicable to all herbicides regulated by the
Agency. Once the Agency receives and considers public comments on this
draft PR Notice, we expect to revise and finalize the draft PR Notice
by late 2016.
V. Do PR Notices contain binding requirements?
The PR Notice discussed in this FR Notice is intended to provide
guidance to EPA personnel and decision-makers, as well as pesticide
registrants. While the requirements in the statute and Agency
regulations are binding on EPA and the applicants, this PR Notice is
not binding on either EPA or pesticide registrants, and EPA may depart
from the guidance where circumstances warrant and without prior notice.
Likewise, pesticide registrants may assert that the guidance is not
appropriate generally or not applicable to a specific pesticide or
situation.
VI. References
The following is a listing of the documents that are specifically
referenced in this document. The docket includes these documents and
other information considered by EPA, including documents that are
referenced within the documents that are included in the docket, even
if the referenced document is not physically located in the docket. For
assistance in locating these other documents, please consult the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
1. Heap, I. 2016. International Survey of Herbicide-resistant Weeds.
March 11, 2016. https://www.weedscience.org.
2. USDA. 2014. 2012 Census of Agriculture. United States Department
of Agriculture.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.
Dated: May 23, 2016.
Jack E. Housenger,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2016-13157 Filed 6-2-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
