Proposed Stipulated Partial Settlement Agreement, Endangered Species Act Claims, 44297-44299 [2019-18132]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 164 / Friday, August 23, 2019 / Notices
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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.
3. Environmental justice. EPA seeks to
achieve environmental justice, the fair
treatment and meaningful involvement
of any group, including minority and/or
low-income populations, in the
development, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies. To help
address potential environmental justice
issues, EPA seeks information on any
groups or segments of the population
who, as a result of their location,
cultural practices, or other factors, may
have atypical or disproportionately high
and adverse human health impacts or
environmental effects from exposure to
the pesticides discussed in this
document, compared to the general
population.
II. Registration Applications
When the Agriculture Improvement
Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) was signed
into law on December 20, 2018, hemp,
defined therein as the plant Cannabis
sativa L. and any part of that plant with
a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
concentration of not more than 0.3% on
a dry weight basis, was removed from
the Controlled Substances Act.
Consequently, interest in hemp
production has substantially increased
over the last several months and the
availability of particular tools, such as
pesticides registered under FIFRA, will
likely be essential to supporting the
success of this industry going forward.
Because of these recent developments
with regard to hemp, EPA has received
applications to add hemp as a new site
to the labeling of some currently
registered pesticide products. These
registered pesticide products contain
active ingredients for which EPA
previously determined the residues will
be safe under any reasonably foreseeable
circumstances and, pursuant to the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(FFDCA), established tolerance
exemptions, as indicated below, for
those residues in or on all raw
agricultural or food commodities. As
these initial applications that involve
hemp may be of significant interest to
the public and to enhance transparency,
EPA is hereby providing notice of
receipt and opportunity to comment on
these applications. Notice of receipt of
these applications does not imply a
decision by EPA on these applications.
FIFRA section 3(c)(4) requires EPA to
‘‘publish in the Federal Register [. . .]
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a notice of each application for
registration of any pesticide [. . .] if it
would entail a changed use pattern.’’ As
terrestrial outdoor and residential
outdoor use patterns (40 CFR 158.100)
were previously assessed and approved
for the active ingredients listed below
and because hemp, as proposed for
addition to the labels of the products
below, falls under these use patterns,
EPA does not consider the use patterns
to be changed with these applications.
Thus, EPA is not statutorily required to
provide an opportunity to comment and
is doing so here because of the potential
significant interest from the public in
these initial applications and in
furtherance of being completely
transparent about these applications.
For future pesticide registration
applications that are similar to these
applications and that are expected to be
submitted with more regularity, EPA is
not planning to notify the public of their
receipt.
1. EPA Registration Number: 70310–5.
Applicant: Agro Logistic Systems, Inc.,
P.O. Box 5799, Diamond Bar, CA 91765.
Active ingredients: Azadirachtin and
Neem Oil. Product type: Insecticide,
Miticide, Fungicide, and Nematicide.
FFDCA clearances: 40 CFR 180.1119
and 40 CFR 180.1291. Contact: BPPD.
2. EPA Registration Number: 70310–7.
Applicant: Agro Logistic Systems, Inc.,
P.O. Box 5799, Diamond Bar, CA 91765.
Active ingredients: Azadirachtin and
Neem Oil. Product type: Insecticide,
Miticide, Fungicide, and Nematicide.
FFDCA clearances: 40 CFR 180.1119
and 40 CFR 180.1291. Contact: BPPD.
3. EPA Registration Number: 70310–8.
Applicant: Agro Logistic Systems, Inc.,
P.O. Box 5799, Diamond Bar, CA 91765.
Active ingredients: Azadirachtin and
Neem Oil. Product type: Insecticide,
Miticide, Fungicide, and Nematicide.
FFDCA clearances: 40 CFR 180.1119
and 40 CFR 180.1291. Contact: BPPD.
4. EPA Registration Number: 70310–
11. Applicant: Agro Logistic Systems,
Inc., P.O. Box 5799, Diamond Bar, CA
91765. Active ingredient: Neem Oil.
Product type: Insecticide, Miticide, and
Fungicide. FFDCA clearance: 40 CFR
180.1291. Contact: BPPD.
5. EPA Registration Number: 84059–3.
Applicant: Marrone Bio Innovations, D/
B/A Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc., 1540
Drew Ave., Davis, CA 95618. Active
ingredient: Extract of Reynoutria
sachalinensis. Product type: Fungicide
and Fungistat. FFDCA clearance: 40
CFR 180.1259. Contact: BPPD.
6. EPA Registration Number: 84059–
28. Applicant: Marrone Bio Innovations,
D/B/A Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc.,
1540 Drew Ave., Davis, CA 95618.
Active ingredient: Bacillus
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44297
amyloliquefaciens strain F727. Product
type: Fungicide. FFDCA clearance: 40
CFR 180.1347. Contact: BPPD.
7. EPA Registration Number: 91865–1.
Applicant: Hawthorne Hydroponics
LLC, D/B/A General Hydroponics, 2877
Giffen Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95407.
Active ingredients: Soybean Oil, Garlic
Oil, and Capsicum Oleoresin Extract.
Product type: Insecticide and Repellent.
FFDCA clearances: 40 CFR 180.950(c)
and 40 CFR 180.1165. Contact: BPPD.
8. EPA Registration Number: 91865–2.
Applicant: Hawthorne Hydroponics
LLC, D/B/A General Hydroponics, 2877
Giffen Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95407.
Active ingredient: Potassium Salts of
Fatty Acids. Product type: Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Miticide. FFDCA
clearance: 40 CFR 180.1068. Contact:
RD.
9. EPA Registration Number: 91865–3.
Applicant: Hawthorne Hydroponics
LLC, D/B/A General Hydroponics, 2877
Giffen Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95407.
Active ingredient: Bacillus
amyloliquefaciens strain D747. Product
type: Fungicide and Bactericide. FFDCA
clearance: 40 CFR 180.1308. Contact:
BPPD.
10. EPA Registration Number: 91865–
4. Applicant: Hawthorne Hydroponics
LLC, D/B/A General Hydroponics, 2877
Giffen Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95407.
Active ingredient: Azadirachtin. Product
type: Insect Growth Regulator and
Repellent. FFDCA clearance: 40 CFR
180.1119. Contact: BPPD.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.
Dated: August 13, 2019.
Robert McNally,
Director, Biopesticides and Pollution
Prevention Division, Office of Pesticide
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2019–18151 Filed 8–22–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OGC–2019–0478; FRL 9998–70–
OGC]
Proposed Stipulated Partial Settlement
Agreement, Endangered Species Act
Claims
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed stipulated
partial settlement agreement; request for
public comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the EPA
Administrator’s October 16, 2017,
Directive Promoting Transparency and
Public Participation in Consent Decrees
and Settlement Agreements, notice is
SUMMARY:
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44298
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 164 / Friday, August 23, 2019 / Notices
hereby given of a proposed stipulated
partial settlement agreement in the
United States District Court for the
Northern District of California in the
case of Center for Biological Diversity et.
al., v. United States Environmental
Protection Agency et al., No. 3:11 cv
0293 (N.D.Ca.). Plaintiffs filed the
original case on January 20, 2011,
asserting a single claim against EPA for
allegedly violating section 7(a)(2) of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing
to initiate and reinitiate consultation
with the Services with respect to its
ongoing oversight of 382 pesticide
active ingredients. After several motions
to narrow the case and an appeal to the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the
plaintiffs filed their fourth amended
complaint on June 29, 2018 for failure
to initiate ESA section 7(a)(2)
consultation for certain pesticide
products containing 35 pesticide active
ingredients. After several settlement
discussions, the parties reached a partial
agreement in this case. The parties are
proposing to reach a settlement in the
form of a stipulated partial settlement
agreement. Among other provisions, this
agreement would set a February 14,
2021, deadline for EPA to complete ESA
section 7(a)(2) effects determination for
carbaryl and methomyl, and, as
appropriate, request initiation of any
ESA section 7(a)(2) consultations with
the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) and/or the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that EPA
may determine to be necessary as a
result of those effects determinations.
Additional deadlines would include
August 14, 2021, for atrazine and
simazine, and August 14, 2024, for
brodifacoum, bromadiolone, warfarin,
and zinc phosphide for EPA to complete
effects determinations, and, as
appropriate, request initiation of any
ESA consultations with NMFS and/or
USFWS. The stipulated partial
settlement agreement would also
include a meet and confer deadline of
August 30, 2021, for all parties to
discuss possible resolution of the
remaining issues in this case.
DATES: Written comments on the
proposed stipulated partial settlement
agreement must be received by
September 23, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID number EPA–
HQ–OGC–2019–0478 online at
www.regulations.gov (EPA’s preferred
method). For comments submitted at
www.regulations.gov, follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Once submitted, comments cannot be
edited or removed from
www.regulations.gov. The EPA may
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Jkt 247001
publish any comment received to its
public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you
consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
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. The EPA generally
will not consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, please
contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
For the full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michele Knorr, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances Law Office (2333A), Office
of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: (202) 564–5631; email
address: knorr.michele@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the
Proposed Stipulated Settlement
Agreement
On January 20, 2011, Plaintiffs (nongovernmental environmental
organizations) filed a complaint in the
United States District Court in the
Northern District of California asserting
a single claim against EPA for allegedly
violating section 7(a)(2) of the ESA by
failing to initiate and reinitiate
consultation with the Services with
respect to 382 pesticide active
ingredients. After motions practice and
an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals, the plaintiffs filed their fourth
amended complaint on June 29, 2018 for
failure to initiate consultation under
ESA section 7(a)(2) for certain pesticide
products containing 35 pesticide active
ingredients. After several settlement
discussions, the parties reached a partial
agreement in this case. Specifically,
Paragraph 1.a. of the proposed
stipulated partial settlement provides
that EPA would agree to complete ESA
section 7(a)(2) effects determinations,
compiled into a biological evaluation,
by February 14, 2021, for carbaryl and
methomyl, and, as appropriate, request
initiation of any ESA section 7(a)(2)
consultations with the NMFS and/or the
USFWS that EPA may determine to be
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necessary as a result of those effects
determinations. Additional deadlines
for completing ESA section 7(a)(2)
effects determinations, compiled into a
biological evaluation, included in
Paragraphs 2.a. and 3.a., respectively,
would be August 14, 2021, for atrazine
and simazine, and August 14, 2024, for
brodifacoum, bromadiolone, warfarin,
and zinc phosphide, and, as
appropriate, request initiation of any
ESA consultations with NMFS and/or
USFWS.
The agreement also includes
statements of EPA’s intent to take
certain actions, in addition to the
deadlines associated with specific
biological evaluations, including: (1) To
complete draft biological evaluations no
later than one year prior to the deadline
for the final biological evaluations, as
well to provide notice and a 60-day
opportunity for public comment on any
such draft, (2) consistent with current
practice, EPA would, within 30 business
days of receipt from the USFWS of any
draft biological opinions on the effects
of chlorpyrifos and diazinon, make the
draft available to the public for a 60-day
comment period, (3) consistent with
current practice, conduct nationwidescale effects determinations, and (4) to
complete biological evaluations for
glyphosate and propazine on the same
schedule as simazine and atrazine.
The stipulated partial settlement also
includes provisions that would require
EPA to meet specific milestones
connected to the deadlines in
Paragraphs 1.a, 2.a, and 3.a. These
provisions included in Paragraphs 1.b.,
2.b., and 3.b would include: (1) No later
than 90 days prior to EPA’s commitment
to complete draft biological evaluations,
EPA would provide a status report to
the Court and other parties on its
progress toward completing these drafts;
and (2) EPA would provide a status
report to the Court and the parties 90
days prior to the deadline to complete
the final biological evaluations.
Additionally, Paragraphs 1.c., 2.c., and
3.c. would include provisions for
modifying the final biological
evaluation deadlines. The stipulated
partial settlement agreement would also
include a meet and confer deadline of
August 30, 2021 for all parties to discuss
resolving the remaining issues in this
case.
For a period of thirty (30) days
following the date of publication of this
notice, the Agency will accept written
comments relating to the proposed
stipulated partial settlement from
persons who are not named as parties to
the litigation in question. If so
requested, EPA will also consider
holding a public hearing on whether to
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 164 / Friday, August 23, 2019 / Notices
agree to the proposed joint stipulation
and stipulated notice of dismissal. EPA
or the Department of Justice may
withdraw or withhold consent to the
proposed stipulated partial settlement if
the comments disclose facts or
considerations that indicate that such
consent is inappropriate, improper,
inadequate, or inconsistent with the
requirements of the ESA or FIFRA.
Unless EPA or the Department of Justice
determines that consent should be
withdrawn, the terms of the proposed
stipulation and stipulated notice of
dismissal will be affirmed.
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II. Additional Information About
Commenting on the Proposed
Stipulation and Stipulated Notice of
Dismissal
A. How can I get a copy of the proposed
stipulated partial settlement agreement?
The official public docket for this
action (identified by EPA–HQ–OGC–
2019–0478) contains a copy of the
proposed stipulated partial 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.
An electronic version of the public
docket is available on EPA’s website at
[Insert URL] and through
www.regulations.gov. You may use
www.regulations.gov to submit or view
public comments, access the index
listing of the contents of the official
public docket, and access those
documents in the public docket that are
available electronically. Once in the
system, key in the appropriate docket
identification number then select
‘‘search.’’ It is important to note that
EPA’s policy is that public comments,
whether submitted electronically or in
paper, will be made available for public
viewing online at www.regulations.gov
without change, unless the comment
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or
other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Information
claimed as CBI and other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute
is not included in the official public
docket or in the electronic public
docket.
EPA’s policy is that copyrighted
material, including copyrighted material
contained in a public comment, will not
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be placed in EPA’s electronic public
docket but will be available only in
printed, paper form in the official public
docket. Although not all docket
materials may be available
electronically, you may still access any
of the publicly available docket
materials through the EPA Docket
Center.
B. How and to whom do I submit
comments?
You may submit comments as
provided in the ADDRESSES section.
Please ensure that your comments are
submitted within the specified comment
period.
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 and with any
disk or CD ROM you submit. 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 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.
In contrast to EPA’s electronic public
docket, EPA’s electronic mail (email)
system is not an ‘‘anonymous access’’
system. If you send an email comment
directly to the Docket without going
through www.regulations.gov, your
email address is automatically captured
and included as part of the comment
that is placed in the official public
docket, and made available in EPA’s
electronic public docket.
Dated: August 13, 2019.
Joseph E. Cole,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019–18132 Filed 8–22–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
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44299
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9997–98–ORD]
Ambient Air Monitoring Reference and
Equivalent Methods; Designation of
One New Equivalent Method
Office of Research and
Development; Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of the designation of a
new equivalent method for monitoring
ambient air quality.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that
the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has designated one new
equivalent method for measuring
concentrations of ozone (O3) in ambient
air.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Vanderpool, Exposure Methods
and Measurement Division (MD–D205–
03), National Exposure Research
Laboratory, U.S. EPA, Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina 27711. Phone:
919–541–7877. Email:
Vanderpool.Robert@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with regulations at 40 CFR
part 53, the EPA evaluates various
methods for monitoring the
concentrations of those ambient air
pollutants for which EPA has
established National Ambient Air
Quality Standards (NAAQS) as set forth
in 40 CFR part 50. Monitoring methods
that are determined to meet specific
requirements for adequacy are
designated by the EPA as either
reference or equivalent methods (as
applicable), thereby permitting their use
under 40 CFR part 58 by States and
other agencies for determining
compliance with the NAAQS. A list of
all reference or equivalent methods that
have been previously designated by EPA
may be found at https://www.epa.gov/
ttn/amtic/criteria.html.
The EPA hereby announces the
designation of one new equivalent
method for measuring concentrations of
O3 in ambient air. This designation is
made under the provisions of 40 CFR
part 53, as amended on October 26,
2015 (80 FR 65291–65468). This new
equivalent method for O3 is an
automated method (analyzer) utilizing
the measurement principle based on UV
photometry. This newly designated
equivalent method is identified as
follows:
EQOA–0719–253, ‘‘Focused
Photonics Inc. AQMS–300 O3 Analyzer’’
UV photometric analyzer operated the
range of 0–0.5 ppm, with 5 mm, 47 mm
diameter Teflon® (PTFE) filter installed,
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 164 (Friday, August 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44297-44299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18132]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OGC-2019-0478; FRL 9998-70-OGC]
Proposed Stipulated Partial Settlement Agreement, Endangered
Species Act Claims
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed stipulated partial settlement agreement;
request for public comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the EPA Administrator's October 16, 2017,
Directive Promoting Transparency and Public Participation in Consent
Decrees and Settlement Agreements, notice is
[[Page 44298]]
hereby given of a proposed stipulated partial settlement agreement in
the United States District Court for the Northern District of
California in the case of Center for Biological Diversity et. al., v.
United States Environmental Protection Agency et al., No. 3:11 cv 0293
(N.D.Ca.). Plaintiffs filed the original case on January 20, 2011,
asserting a single claim against EPA for allegedly violating section
7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to initiate and
reinitiate consultation with the Services with respect to its ongoing
oversight of 382 pesticide active ingredients. After several motions to
narrow the case and an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,
the plaintiffs filed their fourth amended complaint on June 29, 2018
for failure to initiate ESA section 7(a)(2) consultation for certain
pesticide products containing 35 pesticide active ingredients. After
several settlement discussions, the parties reached a partial agreement
in this case. The parties are proposing to reach a settlement in the
form of a stipulated partial settlement agreement. Among other
provisions, this agreement would set a February 14, 2021, deadline for
EPA to complete ESA section 7(a)(2) effects determination for carbaryl
and methomyl, and, as appropriate, request initiation of any ESA
section 7(a)(2) consultations with the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) and/or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) that EPA may determine to be necessary as a result of those
effects determinations. Additional deadlines would include August 14,
2021, for atrazine and simazine, and August 14, 2024, for brodifacoum,
bromadiolone, warfarin, and zinc phosphide for EPA to complete effects
determinations, and, as appropriate, request initiation of any ESA
consultations with NMFS and/or USFWS. The stipulated partial settlement
agreement would also include a meet and confer deadline of August 30,
2021, for all parties to discuss possible resolution of the remaining
issues in this case.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed stipulated partial settlement
agreement must be received by September 23, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2019-0478 online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method).
For comments submitted at www.regulations.gov, follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from www.regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
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. The EPA
generally will not consider comments or comment contents located
outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective
comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Knorr, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances Law Office (2333A), Office of General Counsel, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington,
DC 20460; telephone: (202) 564-5631; email address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Stipulated Settlement
Agreement
On January 20, 2011, Plaintiffs (non-governmental environmental
organizations) filed a complaint in the United States District Court in
the Northern District of California asserting a single claim against
EPA for allegedly violating section 7(a)(2) of the ESA by failing to
initiate and reinitiate consultation with the Services with respect to
382 pesticide active ingredients. After motions practice and an appeal
to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the plaintiffs filed their
fourth amended complaint on June 29, 2018 for failure to initiate
consultation under ESA section 7(a)(2) for certain pesticide products
containing 35 pesticide active ingredients. After several settlement
discussions, the parties reached a partial agreement in this case.
Specifically, Paragraph 1.a. of the proposed stipulated partial
settlement provides that EPA would agree to complete ESA section
7(a)(2) effects determinations, compiled into a biological evaluation,
by February 14, 2021, for carbaryl and methomyl, and, as appropriate,
request initiation of any ESA section 7(a)(2) consultations with the
NMFS and/or the USFWS that EPA may determine to be necessary as a
result of those effects determinations. Additional deadlines for
completing ESA section 7(a)(2) effects determinations, compiled into a
biological evaluation, included in Paragraphs 2.a. and 3.a.,
respectively, would be August 14, 2021, for atrazine and simazine, and
August 14, 2024, for brodifacoum, bromadiolone, warfarin, and zinc
phosphide, and, as appropriate, request initiation of any ESA
consultations with NMFS and/or USFWS.
The agreement also includes statements of EPA's intent to take
certain actions, in addition to the deadlines associated with specific
biological evaluations, including: (1) To complete draft biological
evaluations no later than one year prior to the deadline for the final
biological evaluations, as well to provide notice and a 60-day
opportunity for public comment on any such draft, (2) consistent with
current practice, EPA would, within 30 business days of receipt from
the USFWS of any draft biological opinions on the effects of
chlorpyrifos and diazinon, make the draft available to the public for a
60-day comment period, (3) consistent with current practice, conduct
nationwide-scale effects determinations, and (4) to complete biological
evaluations for glyphosate and propazine on the same schedule as
simazine and atrazine.
The stipulated partial settlement also includes provisions that
would require EPA to meet specific milestones connected to the
deadlines in Paragraphs 1.a, 2.a, and 3.a. These provisions included in
Paragraphs 1.b., 2.b., and 3.b would include: (1) No later than 90 days
prior to EPA's commitment to complete draft biological evaluations, EPA
would provide a status report to the Court and other parties on its
progress toward completing these drafts; and (2) EPA would provide a
status report to the Court and the parties 90 days prior to the
deadline to complete the final biological evaluations. Additionally,
Paragraphs 1.c., 2.c., and 3.c. would include provisions for modifying
the final biological evaluation deadlines. The stipulated partial
settlement agreement would also include a meet and confer deadline of
August 30, 2021 for all parties to discuss resolving the remaining
issues in this case.
For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication
of this notice, the Agency will accept written comments relating to the
proposed stipulated partial settlement from persons who are not named
as parties to the litigation in question. If so requested, EPA will
also consider holding a public hearing on whether to
[[Page 44299]]
agree to the proposed joint stipulation and stipulated notice of
dismissal. EPA or the Department of Justice may withdraw or withhold
consent to the proposed stipulated partial settlement if the comments
disclose facts or considerations that indicate that such consent is
inappropriate, improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with the
requirements of the ESA or FIFRA. Unless EPA or the Department of
Justice determines that consent should be withdrawn, the terms of the
proposed stipulation and stipulated notice of dismissal will be
affirmed.
II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Stipulation
and Stipulated Notice of Dismissal
A. How can I get a copy of the proposed stipulated partial settlement
agreement?
The official public docket for this action (identified by EPA-HQ-
OGC-2019-0478) contains a copy of the proposed stipulated partial
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.
An electronic version of the public docket is available on EPA's
website at [Insert URL] and through www.regulations.gov. You may use
www.regulations.gov to submit or view public comments, access the index
listing of the contents of the official public docket, and access those
documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once
in the system, key in the appropriate docket identification number then
select ``search.'' It is important to note that EPA's policy is that
public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be
made available for public viewing online at www.regulations.gov without
change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information
claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is restricted by
statute is not included in the official public docket or in the
electronic public docket.
EPA's policy is that copyrighted material, including copyrighted
material contained in a public comment, will not be placed in EPA's
electronic public docket but will be available only in printed, paper
form in the official public docket. Although not all docket materials
may be available electronically, you may still access any of the
publicly available docket materials through the EPA Docket Center.
B. How and to whom do I submit comments?
You may submit comments as provided in the ADDRESSES section.
Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified
comment period.
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 and with any disk or CD
ROM you submit. 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 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.
In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's electronic mail
(email) system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an
email comment directly to the Docket without going through
www.regulations.gov, your email address is automatically captured and
included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public
docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
Dated: August 13, 2019.
Joseph E. Cole,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019-18132 Filed 8-22-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
