Cancellation Order for Certain Chlorpyrifos Registrations, 53471-53473 [2022-18838]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 168 / Wednesday, August 31, 2022 / Notices other interested individuals and groups; and newspapers and libraries in the Project area. The final EIS is only available in electronic format. It may be viewed and downloaded from the FERC’s website (www.ferc.gov), on the natural gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industriesdata/natural-gas/environment/ environmental-documents). In addition, the final EIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the FERC’s website. Click on the eLibrary link (https:// elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search) select ‘‘General Search’’ and enter the docket number in the ‘‘Docket Number’’ field, excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP21–467). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208–3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502–8659. Additional information about the project is available from the Commission’s Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208–FERC, or on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. The eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of all formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings. In addition, the Commission offers a free service called eSubscription that allows you to keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to the documents. Go to https://www.ferc.gov/ ferc-online/overview to register for eSubscription. Dated: August 25, 2022. Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 2022–18790 Filed 8–30–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 53471 Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone number: 202–566–0700; email address: OPPChlorpyrifosInquiries@epa.gov. The docket for this action, identified under docket identification (ID) number EPA–HQ–OPP–2022–0223, is available online at https:// www.regulations.gov. Additional instructions on visiting the docket, along with more information about dockets generally, is available at https:// www.epa.gov/dockets. For the latest status information on EPA/DC services and docket access, visit https:// www.epa.gov/dockets. ADDRESSES: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA–HQ–OPP–2022–0223; FRL–10138–01– OCSPP] Cancellation Order for Certain Chlorpyrifos Registrations Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: This notice announces an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) order for the cancellations, voluntarily requested by the registrants and accepted by the Agency, of the chlorpyrifos products listed in Table 1 of Unit I., pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This cancellation order follows an April 28, 2022, Federal Register Notice of Receipt of requests from the registrants listed in Table 2 of Unit I. to voluntarily cancel these chlorpyrifos product registrations. Any distribution, sale, or use of the products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks provisions. DATES: The cancellations and amendments are effective August 31, 2022. SUMMARY: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Biggio, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division (7508M), Office of Pesticide SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Executive Summary A. Does this action apply to me? This action is directed to the public in general and may be of interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human health, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; pesticide users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution, or use of pesticides. Since others also may be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be affected by this action. B. What action is the Agency taking? This document announces the cancellations, as requested by registrants, of products registered under FIFRA section 3 (7 U.S.C. 136a). These registrations are listed in sequence by registration number in Table 1 of this unit. TABLE 1—PRODUCT CANCELLATIONS lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 EPA registration No. Company No. 279–3538 ..................... 279–3581 ..................... 279–9545 ..................... 279–9572 ..................... 279–9574 ..................... 499–367 ....................... 279 279 279 279 279 499 499–405 ....................... 499–419 ....................... 499 499 53883–264 ................... 53883–331 ................... 53883–355 ................... 86363–11 ..................... 89168–20 ..................... 89168–24 ..................... 89168–47 ..................... 89459–69 ..................... 53883 53883 53883 86363 89168 89168 89168 89459 VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:59 Aug 30, 2022 Jkt 256001 Product name Active ingredients Nufos 4E ................................................................................. Bolton Insecticide ................................................................... F9047–2 EC Insecticide ......................................................... Gat Chlorpyrifos Cs ................................................................ Chlorpyrifos 42 CS ................................................................. Whitmire PT 275 Dur-O-Cap Microencapsulated Chlorpyrifos. Whitmire PT 1920 Total Release Insecticide ......................... Duration PT 275 MC Microencapsulated Dursban Liquid Concentrate. CSI Chlorpyrifos CS ............................................................... CSI Chlorpyrifos 42 CS Insecticide ........................................ CSI Chlorpyrifos 20 CS .......................................................... Bifenchlor ................................................................................ Liberty Chlorpyrifos Bifenthrin ................................................ Liberty Chlorpyrifos 4E ........................................................... Liberty Granular Insecticide ................................................... Equil Pyrifos ........................................................................... Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos & gamma-Cyhalothrin. Chlorpyrifos & Zeta-Cypermethrin. Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos. PO 00000 31AUN1 Frm 00031 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\31AUN1.SGM Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos. Bifenthrin & Chlorpyrifos. Bifenthrin & Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos. Bifenthrin & Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos. 53472 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 168 / Wednesday, August 31, 2022 / Notices TABLE 2—REGISTRANTS OF CANCELLED PRODUCTS Company No. 279 ......................... 499 ......................... 53883 ..................... 86363 ..................... 89168 ..................... 89459 ..................... Company name and address FMC Corporation, 2929 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. BASF Corporation, 26 Davis Drive, P.O. Box 13528, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709–3528. Control Solutions, Inc., 5903 Genoa Red Bluff Road, Pasadena, TX 77507. Kaizen Agent Name: Lighthouse Product, Services Technologies, LLC, 2411 S. Bear Claw Way, Meridian, ID 83642. Liberty Crop Protection, LLC, 1880 Fall River Dr., #100, Loveland, CO 80538. Central Garden & Pet Company, 1501 East Woodfield Road, Suite 200W, Schaumburg, IL 60173. C. What is the Agency’s authority for taking this action? FIFRA section 6(f)(1), 7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1), provides that a registrant of a pesticide product may at any time request that any of its pesticide registrations or registered uses be cancelled. FIFRA further provides that, before acting on the request, EPA must publish a notice of receipt of any such request in the Federal Register. FIFRA section 6(f)(1)(B), 7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1)(B), requires that before acting on a request for voluntary cancellation, EPA must provide a 30-public comment period on the request for voluntary cancellation or use termination. Following the public comment period, the EPA Administrator may approve such a request. II. Background lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 A. Brief History In August 2021, EPA issued a rule revoking chlorpyrifos tolerances on the grounds that the chlorpyrifos tolerances were not safe (86 FR 48315, August 30, 2021) (FRL–5993–04–OCSPP) publication in the Federal Register. Pursuant to the procedures set forth in FFDCA section 408(g)(2), objections to, requests for evidentiary hearings on those objections, and/or requests for stays of the final rule were filed on or before the close of the objections period on October 29, 2021. On February 28, 2022, EPA issued an Order denying all objections to, requests for hearing on those objections, as well as requests for stay of the August 2021 final rule published in the Federal Register on February 28, 2022 (87 FR 11222) (FRL– 5993–05–OCSPP). Those tolerances expired on February 28, 2022. Once the tolerances expired, pesticide products containing chlorpyrifos could no longer be used on food crops. After EPA alerted registrants of chlorpyrifos products of the lack of tolerances and the options for their products, several registrants submitted requests to voluntarily cancel their chlorpyrifos pesticide products. In April 2022, the notice of receipt of the request for voluntary cancellation or use termination related to this action VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:59 Aug 30, 2022 Jkt 256001 published for comment in the Federal Register on April 28, 2022 (87 FR 25256) (FRL–9723–01–OCSPP). The 30day public comment period closed on May 31, 2022. B. Summary of Comments Received During the public comment period, EPA received seven substantive comments in response to the April 2022 notice of receipt. The comments can be found in the docket for this action and are briefly summarized here. Comments submitted by the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Agricultural Retailers Association, the Cherry Marketing Institute, and a joint comment from the American Sugar Beet Growers Association, the U.S. Beet Sugar Association, and the Beet Sugar Development Foundation opposed the cancellation of the products containing chlorpyrifos due to the importance of chlorpyrifos for growers. In particular, these commenters specified concerns that growers will have difficulty protecting their crops against certain pests without chlorpyrifos and that growers may use more significant quantities of less-effective products, contributing to resistance issues. In addition, these commenters make note of litigation challenging EPA’s rule revoking the chlorpyrifos tolerances that is currently pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Ass’n et al., v. Regan, et al., No. 22–1422 (8th Cir.), and request that EPA postpone cancellation of chlorpyrifos products until the litigation is resolved. C. EPA Response to Comments EPA is declining to postpone the cancellations requested by the registrants subject to this cancellation order. Postponing the cancellations would essentially impose a responsibility on the registrants subject to this order to retain and maintain their registrations indefinitely. The resolution and timing of the litigation is unknown, and retention of the registrations could subject registrants to additional maintenance fees and responsibilities for those registrations. See, e.g., 40 CFR PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 part 152, subpart G (registrant responsibilities); 7 U.S.C. 136a–1(i)(1) (maintenance fee obligations); 7 U.S.C. 136e (production reporting requirements); 7 U.S.C. 136f (recordkeeping requirements). EPA also notes that some of the registrations being cancelled in this Order do not contain labeling bearing food uses, so any outcome of the litigation is irrelevant. In any event and more importantly, FIFRA section 6(f) allows a registrant to request voluntary cancellation of a pesticide product registration at any time for many reasons, including lack of interest in maintaining the registration or the pesticide no longer being marketed. EPA cannot compel registrants to maintain a registration indefinitely if they request to voluntarily cancel it. Moreover, retention of these registrations will not make chlorpyrifos products available for use as the commenters desire. The revocation of the tolerances means that application of chlorpyrifos to food crops will result in adulterated food. While cancellation of these 16 products does not terminate the last of the chlorpyrifos products registered in the United States, these products (and other remaining chlorpyrifos products) cannot be applied to food crops that will be shipped in interstate commerce. Finally, these commenters also questioned the Agency’s rationale for revoking all chlorpyrifos tolerances due to the Agency’s proposed mitigations in the Chlorpyrifos Proposed Interim Decision (December 3, 2020). Those comments are challenges to EPA’s rule revoking tolerances, which is being separately litigated and is outside the scope of this action. Several commenters highlighted concerns regarding the existing stocks provisions from the April 2022 notice of receipt that indicated the Agency did not identify potential risk concerns and anticipated allowing registrants to sell and distribute existing stocks of these products for 1 year after publication of the Cancellation Order in the Federal Register. Earthjustice commented that the existing stocks language in the April 2022 notice of receipt that would be applicable to chlorpyrifos products in E:\FR\FM\31AUN1.SGM 31AUN1 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 168 / Wednesday, August 31, 2022 / Notices lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 the notice indicates that EPA anticipated allowing registrants to sell and distribute existing stocks of chlorpyrifos for one year after the publication of the cancellation order and to allow others to sell, distribute, and use existing stocks until exhausted. Earthjustice asserts that EPA cannot allow for existing stocks of chlorpyrifos to be sold, distributed, or used in this way as a result of the revocation of all chlorpyrifos tolerances. See the August 30, 2021 (86 FR 48315) (FRL–5993–04– OCSPP) publication in the Federal Register. The applicability of the existing stocks language in the April 2022 notice of receipt to chlorpyrifos products was an oversight and is being corrected in this cancellation order. The existing stocks section of the April 2022 notice of receipt contained specific language pertaining to one specific product (not the chlorpyrifos products) and other language ‘‘for all other voluntary cancellations listed in the notice.’’ 87 FR 25259. That language provided broad existing stocks provisions due to the Agency’s conclusion that there were ‘‘no significant potential risk concerns associated with those pesticide products.’’ Id. In using somewhat standard language for a voluntary cancellation notice, EPA failed to specify a different existing stocks provision for the chlorpyrifos products in the notice, for which tolerances were revoked due to EPA’s conclusion that chlorpyrifos tolerances were not safe. See 87 FR 11222. FIFRA section 6(a)(1) gives EPA the discretion to permit the continued sale and use of existing stocks, where doing so is determined to be consistent with the purposes of FIFRA. 7 U.S.C. 136d(a)(1). In the case of the chlorpyrifos registrations subject to this order, without tolerances in place to cover residues from use of these products, these products may not be used on food, nor may they be sold or distributed. Allowing for continued use or sale would not be consistent with FIFRA; therefore, EPA is not allowing for continued sale, distribution, or use of chlorpyrifos products listed above. III. The Cancellation Order Pursuant to FIFRA section 6(f) (7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1)), EPA hereby approves the requested cancellations of the registrations identified in Table 1 of Unit I. Accordingly, the Agency hereby orders that the product registrations identified in Table 1 of Unit I. are cancelled. The cancellations and amendments addressed in this Order are effective August 31, 2022. Any distribution, sale, or use of existing stocks of the products VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:59 Aug 30, 2022 Jkt 256001 identified in Table 1 of Unit I. in a manner inconsistent with any of the provisions for disposition of existing stocks set forth in Unit VI. will be a violation of FIFRA. IV. Provisions for Disposition of Existing Stocks Existing stocks are those stocks of registered pesticide products that are currently in the United States and that were packaged, labeled, and released for shipment prior to the effective date of the cancellation action. The language regarding the intended disposition of existing stocks that published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2022 (87 FR 25256) (FRL–9723–01–OCSPP) on page 25259 is not appropriate for application to the pesticide products subject to this Order. None of the registrants listed in this order have requested any continued sale or distribution of existing stocks of the registrations subject to this cancellation order nor have they requested special provisions to relabel the products listed in this order. Because of that and because chlorpyrifos tolerances have been revoked and use of chlorpyrifos renders food adulterated, all sale, distribution, and use of the chlorpyrifos products identified in Table 1 of Unit I. is prohibited, except for export consistent with FIFRA section 17, 7 U.S.C. 136o or for proper disposal. Dated: August 26, 2022. Mary Elissa Reaves, Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide Programs. [FR Doc. 2022–18838 Filed 8–30–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 53473 the offices of the Board of Governors. This information may also be obtained on an expedited basis, upon request, by contacting the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank and from the Board’s Freedom of Information Office at https://www.federalreserve.gov/foia/ request.htm. Interested persons may express their views in writing on the standards enumerated in the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). Comments regarding each of these applications must be received at the Reserve Bank indicated or the offices of the Board of Governors, Ann E. Misback, Secretary of the Board, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551–0001, not later than September 30, 2022. A. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Colette A. Fried, Assistant Vice President) 230 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60690–1414: 1. Sword Financial Corporation, Horicon, Wisconsin; to acquire Community Bancshares Wisconsin and thereby indirectly acquire Cornerstone Community Bank, both of Grafton, Wisconsin. B. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (Jeffrey Imgarten, Assistant Vice President) 1 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64198–0001: 1. First National Buffalo Bankshares, Inc., Buffalo, Wyoming; to acquire First State Bank of Newcastle, Newcastle, Wyoming. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Michele Taylor Fennell, Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board. [FR Doc. 2022–18808 Filed 8–30–22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD The companies listed in this notice have applied to the Board for approval, pursuant to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.) (BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR part 225), and all other applicable statutes and regulations to become a bank holding company and/or to acquire the assets or the ownership of, control of, or the power to vote shares of a bank or bank holding company and all of the banks and nonbanking companies owned by the bank holding company, including the companies listed below. The public portions of the applications listed below, as well as other related filings required by the Board, if any, are available for immediate inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank(s) indicated below and at Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: This notice announces the appointment of the members of the Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. The purpose of the Performance Review Board is to make written recommendations on each executive’s annual summary ratings, performancebased pay adjustment, and performance awards to the appointing authority. DATES: This notice is applicable on August 31, 2022. SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\31AUN1.SGM 31AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 31, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53471-53473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18838]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0223; FRL-10138-01-OCSPP]


Cancellation Order for Certain Chlorpyrifos Registrations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: This notice announces an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
order for the cancellations, voluntarily requested by the registrants 
and accepted by the Agency, of the chlorpyrifos products listed in 
Table 1 of Unit I., pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). This cancellation order follows an April 28, 
2022, Federal Register Notice of Receipt of requests from the 
registrants listed in Table 2 of Unit I. to voluntarily cancel these 
chlorpyrifos product registrations. Any distribution, sale, or use of 
the products subject to this cancellation order is permitted only in 
accordance with the terms of this order, including any existing stocks 
provisions.

DATES: The cancellations and amendments are effective August 31, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Biggio, Pesticide Re-
Evaluation Division (7508M), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 202-566-0700; email address: 
[email protected].

ADDRESSES: The docket for this action, identified under docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0223, is available online at 
https://www.regulations.gov. Additional instructions on visiting the 
docket, along with more information about dockets generally, is 
available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets. For the latest status 
information on EPA/DC services and docket access, visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Executive Summary

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders including environmental, human 
health, and agricultural advocates; the chemical industry; pesticide 
users; and members of the public interested in the sale, distribution, 
or use of pesticides. Since others also may be interested, the Agency 
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be 
affected by this action.

B. What action is the Agency taking?

    This document announces the cancellations, as requested by 
registrants, of products registered under FIFRA section 3 (7 U.S.C. 
136a). These registrations are listed in sequence by registration 
number in Table 1 of this unit.

                                         Table 1--Product Cancellations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        EPA registration  No.           Company  No.            Product name               Active ingredients
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
279-3538.............................             279  Nufos 4E......................  Chlorpyrifos.
279-3581.............................             279  Bolton Insecticide............  Chlorpyrifos & gamma-
                                                                                        Cyhalothrin.
279-9545.............................             279  F9047-2 EC Insecticide........  Chlorpyrifos & Zeta-
                                                                                        Cypermethrin.
279-9572.............................             279  Gat Chlorpyrifos Cs...........  Chlorpyrifos.
279-9574.............................             279  Chlorpyrifos 42 CS............  Chlorpyrifos.
499-367..............................             499  Whitmire PT 275 Dur-O-Cap       Chlorpyrifos.
                                                        Microencapsulated
                                                        Chlorpyrifos.
499-405..............................             499  Whitmire PT 1920 Total Release  Chlorpyrifos.
                                                        Insecticide.
499-419..............................             499  Duration PT 275 MC              Chlorpyrifos.
                                                        Microencapsulated Dursban
                                                        Liquid Concentrate.
53883-264............................           53883  CSI Chlorpyrifos CS...........  Chlorpyrifos.
53883-331............................           53883  CSI Chlorpyrifos 42 CS          Chlorpyrifos.
                                                        Insecticide.
53883-355............................           53883  CSI Chlorpyrifos 20 CS........  Chlorpyrifos.
86363-11.............................           86363  Bifenchlor....................  Bifenthrin &
                                                                                        Chlorpyrifos.
89168-20.............................           89168  Liberty Chlorpyrifos            Bifenthrin &
                                                        Bifenthrin.                     Chlorpyrifos.
89168-24.............................           89168  Liberty Chlorpyrifos 4E.......  Chlorpyrifos.
89168-47.............................           89168  Liberty Granular Insecticide..  Bifenthrin &
                                                                                        Chlorpyrifos.
89459-69.............................           89459  Equil Pyrifos.................  Chlorpyrifos.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 53472]]


               Table 2--Registrants of Cancelled Products
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Company No.                    Company name and address
------------------------------------------------------------------------
279........................  FMC Corporation, 2929 Walnut Street,
                              Philadelphia, PA 19104.
499........................  BASF Corporation, 26 Davis Drive, P.O. Box
                              13528, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-
                              3528.
53883......................  Control Solutions, Inc., 5903 Genoa Red
                              Bluff Road, Pasadena, TX 77507.
86363......................  Kaizen Agent Name: Lighthouse Product,
                              Services Technologies, LLC, 2411 S. Bear
                              Claw Way, Meridian, ID 83642.
89168......................  Liberty Crop Protection, LLC, 1880 Fall
                              River Dr., #100, Loveland, CO 80538.
89459......................  Central Garden & Pet Company, 1501 East
                              Woodfield Road, Suite 200W, Schaumburg, IL
                              60173.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?

    FIFRA section 6(f)(1), 7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1), provides that a 
registrant of a pesticide product may at any time request that any of 
its pesticide registrations or registered uses be cancelled. FIFRA 
further provides that, before acting on the request, EPA must publish a 
notice of receipt of any such request in the Federal Register.
    FIFRA section 6(f)(1)(B), 7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1)(B), requires that 
before acting on a request for voluntary cancellation, EPA must provide 
a 30-public comment period on the request for voluntary cancellation or 
use termination. Following the public comment period, the EPA 
Administrator may approve such a request.

II. Background

A. Brief History

    In August 2021, EPA issued a rule revoking chlorpyrifos tolerances 
on the grounds that the chlorpyrifos tolerances were not safe (86 FR 
48315, August 30, 2021) (FRL-5993-04-OCSPP) publication in the Federal 
Register. Pursuant to the procedures set forth in FFDCA section 
408(g)(2), objections to, requests for evidentiary hearings on those 
objections, and/or requests for stays of the final rule were filed on 
or before the close of the objections period on October 29, 2021. On 
February 28, 2022, EPA issued an Order denying all objections to, 
requests for hearing on those objections, as well as requests for stay 
of the August 2021 final rule published in the Federal Register on 
February 28, 2022 (87 FR 11222) (FRL-5993-05-OCSPP).
    Those tolerances expired on February 28, 2022. Once the tolerances 
expired, pesticide products containing chlorpyrifos could no longer be 
used on food crops. After EPA alerted registrants of chlorpyrifos 
products of the lack of tolerances and the options for their products, 
several registrants submitted requests to voluntarily cancel their 
chlorpyrifos pesticide products.
    In April 2022, the notice of receipt of the request for voluntary 
cancellation or use termination related to this action published for 
comment in the Federal Register on April 28, 2022 (87 FR 25256) (FRL-
9723-01-OCSPP). The 30-day public comment period closed on May 31, 
2022.

B. Summary of Comments Received

    During the public comment period, EPA received seven substantive 
comments in response to the April 2022 notice of receipt. The comments 
can be found in the docket for this action and are briefly summarized 
here.
    Comments submitted by the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation, the 
American Farm Bureau Federation, the Agricultural Retailers 
Association, the Cherry Marketing Institute, and a joint comment from 
the American Sugar Beet Growers Association, the U.S. Beet Sugar 
Association, and the Beet Sugar Development Foundation opposed the 
cancellation of the products containing chlorpyrifos due to the 
importance of chlorpyrifos for growers. In particular, these commenters 
specified concerns that growers will have difficulty protecting their 
crops against certain pests without chlorpyrifos and that growers may 
use more significant quantities of less-effective products, 
contributing to resistance issues. In addition, these commenters make 
note of litigation challenging EPA's rule revoking the chlorpyrifos 
tolerances that is currently pending in the United States Court of 
Appeals for the 8th Circuit, Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Ass'n 
et al., v. Regan, et al., No. 22-1422 (8th Cir.), and request that EPA 
postpone cancellation of chlorpyrifos products until the litigation is 
resolved.

C. EPA Response to Comments

    EPA is declining to postpone the cancellations requested by the 
registrants subject to this cancellation order. Postponing the 
cancellations would essentially impose a responsibility on the 
registrants subject to this order to retain and maintain their 
registrations indefinitely. The resolution and timing of the litigation 
is unknown, and retention of the registrations could subject 
registrants to additional maintenance fees and responsibilities for 
those registrations. See, e.g., 40 CFR part 152, subpart G (registrant 
responsibilities); 7 U.S.C. 136a-1(i)(1) (maintenance fee obligations); 
7 U.S.C. 136e (production reporting requirements); 7 U.S.C. 136f 
(recordkeeping requirements).
    EPA also notes that some of the registrations being cancelled in 
this Order do not contain labeling bearing food uses, so any outcome of 
the litigation is irrelevant. In any event and more importantly, FIFRA 
section 6(f) allows a registrant to request voluntary cancellation of a 
pesticide product registration at any time for many reasons, including 
lack of interest in maintaining the registration or the pesticide no 
longer being marketed. EPA cannot compel registrants to maintain a 
registration indefinitely if they request to voluntarily cancel it. 
Moreover, retention of these registrations will not make chlorpyrifos 
products available for use as the commenters desire. The revocation of 
the tolerances means that application of chlorpyrifos to food crops 
will result in adulterated food. While cancellation of these 16 
products does not terminate the last of the chlorpyrifos products 
registered in the United States, these products (and other remaining 
chlorpyrifos products) cannot be applied to food crops that will be 
shipped in interstate commerce.
    Finally, these commenters also questioned the Agency's rationale 
for revoking all chlorpyrifos tolerances due to the Agency's proposed 
mitigations in the Chlorpyrifos Proposed Interim Decision (December 3, 
2020). Those comments are challenges to EPA's rule revoking tolerances, 
which is being separately litigated and is outside the scope of this 
action.
    Several commenters highlighted concerns regarding the existing 
stocks provisions from the April 2022 notice of receipt that indicated 
the Agency did not identify potential risk concerns and anticipated 
allowing registrants to sell and distribute existing stocks of these 
products for 1 year after publication of the Cancellation Order in the 
Federal Register. Earthjustice commented that the existing stocks 
language in the April 2022 notice of receipt that would be applicable 
to chlorpyrifos products in

[[Page 53473]]

the notice indicates that EPA anticipated allowing registrants to sell 
and distribute existing stocks of chlorpyrifos for one year after the 
publication of the cancellation order and to allow others to sell, 
distribute, and use existing stocks until exhausted. Earthjustice 
asserts that EPA cannot allow for existing stocks of chlorpyrifos to be 
sold, distributed, or used in this way as a result of the revocation of 
all chlorpyrifos tolerances. See the August 30, 2021 (86 FR 48315) 
(FRL-5993-04-OCSPP) publication in the Federal Register.
    The applicability of the existing stocks language in the April 2022 
notice of receipt to chlorpyrifos products was an oversight and is 
being corrected in this cancellation order. The existing stocks section 
of the April 2022 notice of receipt contained specific language 
pertaining to one specific product (not the chlorpyrifos products) and 
other language ``for all other voluntary cancellations listed in the 
notice.'' 87 FR 25259. That language provided broad existing stocks 
provisions due to the Agency's conclusion that there were ``no 
significant potential risk concerns associated with those pesticide 
products.'' Id. In using somewhat standard language for a voluntary 
cancellation notice, EPA failed to specify a different existing stocks 
provision for the chlorpyrifos products in the notice, for which 
tolerances were revoked due to EPA's conclusion that chlorpyrifos 
tolerances were not safe. See 87 FR 11222. FIFRA section 6(a)(1) gives 
EPA the discretion to permit the continued sale and use of existing 
stocks, where doing so is determined to be consistent with the purposes 
of FIFRA. 7 U.S.C. 136d(a)(1). In the case of the chlorpyrifos 
registrations subject to this order, without tolerances in place to 
cover residues from use of these products, these products may not be 
used on food, nor may they be sold or distributed. Allowing for 
continued use or sale would not be consistent with FIFRA; therefore, 
EPA is not allowing for continued sale, distribution, or use of 
chlorpyrifos products listed above.

III. The Cancellation Order

    Pursuant to FIFRA section 6(f) (7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1)), EPA hereby 
approves the requested cancellations of the registrations identified in 
Table 1 of Unit I. Accordingly, the Agency hereby orders that the 
product registrations identified in Table 1 of Unit I. are cancelled.
    The cancellations and amendments addressed in this Order are 
effective August 31, 2022. Any distribution, sale, or use of existing 
stocks of the products identified in Table 1 of Unit I. in a manner 
inconsistent with any of the provisions for disposition of existing 
stocks set forth in Unit VI. will be a violation of FIFRA.

IV. Provisions for Disposition of Existing Stocks

    Existing stocks are those stocks of registered pesticide products 
that are currently in the United States and that were packaged, 
labeled, and released for shipment prior to the effective date of the 
cancellation action. The language regarding the intended disposition of 
existing stocks that published in the Federal Register on April 28, 
2022 (87 FR 25256) (FRL-9723-01-OCSPP) on page 25259 is not appropriate 
for application to the pesticide products subject to this Order.
    None of the registrants listed in this order have requested any 
continued sale or distribution of existing stocks of the registrations 
subject to this cancellation order nor have they requested special 
provisions to relabel the products listed in this order. Because of 
that and because chlorpyrifos tolerances have been revoked and use of 
chlorpyrifos renders food adulterated, all sale, distribution, and use 
of the chlorpyrifos products identified in Table 1 of Unit I. is 
prohibited, except for export consistent with FIFRA section 17, 7 
U.S.C. 136o or for proper disposal.

    Dated: August 26, 2022.
Mary Elissa Reaves,
Director, Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division, Office of Pesticide 
Programs.
[FR Doc. 2022-18838 Filed 8-30-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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