Proposed Stipulated Partial Settlement Agreement, Endangered Species Act Claims, 76564-76565 [2020-26311]
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76564
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 230 / Monday, November 30, 2020 / Notices
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OGC–2020–0520; FRL 10016–54–
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
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator’s October 16, 2017,
Directive Promoting Transparency and
Public Participation in Consent Decrees
and Settlement Agreements, notice is
hereby given of a proposed stipulated
partial settlement agreement in the case
of Natural Resources Defense Council v.
Wheeler, et al., in the United States
District Court for the District of
Columbia (1:17–CV–02034). The
Plaintiff filed its original case on
October 3, 2017, alleging that EPA
violated Section 7(a)(2) of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing
to consult on the effects to listed species
of certain pesticide product registrations
containing one of three pesticide active
ingredients—acetamiprid (Claim One),
dinotefuran (Claim Two), and
imidacloprid (Claim Three). EPA and
Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC) are proposing to reach a
settlement in the form of a Partial
Stipulated Settlement Agreement.
Defendant-Intervenor indicated that it
takes no position on this proposed
partial agreement. Among other
provisions, the proposed partial
stipulated settlement agreement
between EPA and NRDC calls for EPA
to complete an endangered species
effects determination with respect to
imidacloprid (Claim Three) by June 30,
2022. And, as appropriate, EPA will
initiate consultation with the National
Marine Fisheries Service and/or the
Fish and Wildlife Service (Services).
DATES: Written comments on the
proposed stipulated partial settlement
agreement must be received by
December 30, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID number EPA–
HQ–OGC–2020- 0520 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
TKELLEY on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:03 Nov 27, 2020
Jkt 253001
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 October 3, 2017, Plaintiff (a nongovernmental environmental
organization) filed a complaint in the
United States District Court in the
District of Columbia asserting three
claims against EPA for allegedly
violating section 7(a)(2) of the ESA by
failing to initiate and reinitiate
consultation with the Services.
Specifically, Plaintiffs alleged that the
EPA failed to consult on the effects to
listed species of 95 pesticide product
registrations containing one of three
pesticide active ingredients—
acetamiprid (Claim One), dinotefuran
(Claim Two), and imidacloprid (Claim
Three). On February 8, 2018, the parties
in this case entered into a stipulation of
partial dismissal of any and all claims
related to 36 pesticide product
registrations identified in the complaint.
The Court approved this stipulation of
partial dismissal, leaving 59 pesticide
product registrations at issue. Of the 59
product registrations remaining, 46 of
them contain the active ingredient
imidacloprid. Following the stipulated
dismissal, EPA filed a motion to dismiss
the case based on standing. After an
adverse decision on the motion to
PO 00000
Frm 00051
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Sfmt 4703
dismiss, the parties had several
settlement discussions. At the end of
these discussions the Plaintiff and EPA
reached a partial agreement in this case.
Specifically, Paragraph 1 of the
proposed stipulated partial settlement
provides that EPA would agree to
complete ESA section 7(a)(2) effects
determination, compiled into a
biological evaluation, for imidacloprid
by June 30, 2022, and, as appropriate,
request initiation of any ESA section
7(a)(2) consultation with the Services.
The date for the effects determination
aligns with the same deadline for two
other neonicotinoid chemicals—
clothianidin and thiamethoxam—that
were agreed upon in a settlement in
Ellis v. Keigwin, No. 3:13–CV–1266
(N.D. Cal). Paragraph 3 would include
provisions for modifying the final
biological evaluation deadlines. The
stipulated partial settlement agreement
would also require that within 10
business days after the Court enters any
Order approving this proposed
agreement that the Plaintiff, EPA, and
Intervenor-Defendant to meet and confer
regarding the remaining two claims in
the complaint concerning certain
pesticide products containing
acetamiprid or dinotefuran.
Consistent with current practice, the
agreement would also include
statements of EPA’s intent to take
certain actions in addition to the
deadlines associated with specific
biological evaluations, including: (1) To
complete a draft biological evaluation
no later than one year prior to the
deadline for the final biological
evaluation, as well as to provide notice
and a 60-day opportunity for public
comment on any such draft, and (2)
conduct the effects determination on a
nationwide-scale.
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. 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 the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act. 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.
E:\FR\FM\30NON1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 230 / Monday, November 30, 2020 / Notices
TKELLEY on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
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–
2020–0520) contains a copy of the
proposed stipulated partial settlement
agreement. The EPA is temporarily
suspending its Docket Center and
Reading Room for public visitors, with
limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of
transmitting COVID–19. Our Docket
Center staff will continue to provide
remote customer service via email,
phone, and webform. We encourage the
public to submit comments via https://
www.regulations.gov/ as there may be a
delay in processing mail and faxes.
Hand deliveries or couriers will be
received by scheduled appointment
only. For further information and
updates on EPA Docket Center services,
please visit us online at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
The EPA continues to carefully and
continuously monitor information from
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), local area health
departments, and our Federal partners
so that we can respond rapidly as
conditions change regarding COVID–19.
The electronic version of the public
docket for this action contains a copy of
the proposed stipulated partial
settlement agreement, and is available
through https://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. Please refer to the information
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:03 Nov 27, 2020
Jkt 253001
76565
above about the current status of the
EPA Docket Center.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
B. How and to whom do I submit
comments?
[EPA–HQ–OGC–2020–0561; FRL–10016–63–
OGC]
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.
Proposed Settlement Agreements,
Clean Water Act and Endangered
Species Act
Joseph E. Cole,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020–26311 Filed 11–27–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
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Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice; request for public
comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator’s October 16, 2017,
Directive Promoting Transparency and
Public Participation in Consent Decrees
and Settlement Agreements, notice is
hereby given of a proposed stipulated
order of partial dismissal to address
several claims in a lawsuit filed by
Northwest Environmental Advocates in
the U.S. District Court for the District of
Idaho. On September 24, 2013 the
Northwest Environmental Advocates
and the Idaho Conservation League
(collectively ‘‘Plaintiffs’’) filed an
amended complaint bringing claims
against the EPA alleging, among other
things, that it failed to perform duties
mandated by the Endangered Species
Act (ESA) to consult with the Fish &
Wildlife Service and the National
Marine Fisheries Service (collectively
‘‘the Services’’) regarding its actions
under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and
that EPA failed to complete various
mandatory duties under the CWA with
respect to various new and revised
water quality standards adopted by the
Idaho Department of Environmental
Quality. EPA seeks public input on the
proposed stipulated order of partial
dismissal prior to its final decisionmaking to settle the litigation.
DATES: Written comments on the
proposed settlement agreements must be
received by December 30, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OGC–2020–0561, by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov/ (our
preferred method). Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center,
Office of the General Counsel Docket,
Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: EPA Docket
Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334,
1301 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20004. The Docket
Center’s hours of operations are 8:30
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\30NON1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 230 (Monday, November 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76564-76565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26311]
[[Page 76564]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0520; FRL 10016-54-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 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator's October 16, 2017, Directive Promoting Transparency and
Public Participation in Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements,
notice is hereby given of a proposed stipulated partial settlement
agreement in the case of Natural Resources Defense Council v. Wheeler,
et al., in the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia (1:17-CV-02034). The Plaintiff filed its original case on
October 3, 2017, alleging that EPA violated Section 7(a)(2) of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to consult on the effects to
listed species of certain pesticide product registrations containing
one of three pesticide active ingredients--acetamiprid (Claim One),
dinotefuran (Claim Two), and imidacloprid (Claim Three). EPA and
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are proposing to reach a
settlement in the form of a Partial Stipulated Settlement Agreement.
Defendant-Intervenor indicated that it takes no position on this
proposed partial agreement. Among other provisions, the proposed
partial stipulated settlement agreement between EPA and NRDC calls for
EPA to complete an endangered species effects determination with
respect to imidacloprid (Claim Three) by June 30, 2022. And, as
appropriate, EPA will initiate consultation with the National Marine
Fisheries Service and/or the Fish and Wildlife Service (Services).
DATES: Written comments on the proposed stipulated partial settlement
agreement must be received by December 30, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2020- 0520 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 October 3, 2017, Plaintiff (a non-governmental environmental
organization) filed a complaint in the United States District Court in
the District of Columbia asserting three claims against EPA for
allegedly violating section 7(a)(2) of the ESA by failing to initiate
and reinitiate consultation with the Services. Specifically, Plaintiffs
alleged that the EPA failed to consult on the effects to listed species
of 95 pesticide product registrations containing one of three pesticide
active ingredients--acetamiprid (Claim One), dinotefuran (Claim Two),
and imidacloprid (Claim Three). On February 8, 2018, the parties in
this case entered into a stipulation of partial dismissal of any and
all claims related to 36 pesticide product registrations identified in
the complaint. The Court approved this stipulation of partial
dismissal, leaving 59 pesticide product registrations at issue. Of the
59 product registrations remaining, 46 of them contain the active
ingredient imidacloprid. Following the stipulated dismissal, EPA filed
a motion to dismiss the case based on standing. After an adverse
decision on the motion to dismiss, the parties had several settlement
discussions. At the end of these discussions the Plaintiff and EPA
reached a partial agreement in this case. Specifically, Paragraph 1 of
the proposed stipulated partial settlement provides that EPA would
agree to complete ESA section 7(a)(2) effects determination, compiled
into a biological evaluation, for imidacloprid by June 30, 2022, and,
as appropriate, request initiation of any ESA section 7(a)(2)
consultation with the Services. The date for the effects determination
aligns with the same deadline for two other neonicotinoid chemicals--
clothianidin and thiamethoxam--that were agreed upon in a settlement in
Ellis v. Keigwin, No. 3:13-CV-1266 (N.D. Cal). Paragraph 3 would
include provisions for modifying the final biological evaluation
deadlines. The stipulated partial settlement agreement would also
require that within 10 business days after the Court enters any Order
approving this proposed agreement that the Plaintiff, EPA, and
Intervenor-Defendant to meet and confer regarding the remaining two
claims in the complaint concerning certain pesticide products
containing acetamiprid or dinotefuran.
Consistent with current practice, the agreement would also include
statements of EPA's intent to take certain actions in addition to the
deadlines associated with specific biological evaluations, including:
(1) To complete a draft biological evaluation no later than one year
prior to the deadline for the final biological evaluation, as well as
to provide notice and a 60-day opportunity for public comment on any
such draft, and (2) conduct the effects determination on a nationwide-
scale.
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. 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 the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. 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.
[[Page 76565]]
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-2020-0520) contains a copy of the proposed stipulated partial
settlement agreement. The EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket
Center and Reading Room for public visitors, with limited exceptions,
to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff
will continue to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and
webform. We encourage the public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov/ as there may be a delay in processing mail and
faxes. Hand deliveries or couriers will be received by scheduled
appointment only. For further information and updates on EPA Docket
Center services, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.
The electronic version of the public docket for this action
contains a copy of the proposed stipulated partial settlement
agreement, and is available through https://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. Please refer to the information
above about the current status of 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.
Joseph E. Cole,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-26311 Filed 11-27-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P