Receipt of a Pesticide Petition Filed for Residues of Pesticide Chemicals in or on Various Commodities (November 2023)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice of filing of petition and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

This document announces the Agency's receipt of an initial filing of a pesticide petition requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before January 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA–HQ–OPP–2023–0069, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Additional instructions on commenting and visiting the docket, along with more information about dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anne Overstreet, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division (BPPD) (7511M), main telephone number: (202) 566–2425, email address: BPPDFRNotices@epa.gov; or Dan Rosenblatt, Registration Division (RD) (7505T), main telephone number: (202) 566–2875, email address: RDFRNotices@epa.gov. The mailing address for each contact person is Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460–0001. As part of the mailing address, include the contact person's name, division, and mail code. The division to contact is listed at the end of each application summary.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. The following list of North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide to help readers determine whether this document applies to them. Potentially affected entities may include:

• Crop production (NAICS code 111).
• Animal production (NAICS code 112).
• Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).
• Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD–ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD–ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD–ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting your comments, see the commenting tips at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

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, the Agency 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. What action is the Agency taking?

EPA is announcing receipt of a pesticide petition filed under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 346a, requesting the establishment or modification of regulations in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various food commodities. The Agency is taking public comment on the request before responding to the petitioner. EPA is not proposing any particular action at this time. EPA has determined that the pesticide petition described in this document contains data or information prescribed in FFDCA section 408(d)(2), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(2); however, EPA has not fully evaluated the sufficiency of the submitted data at this time or whether the data supports granting of the pesticide petition. After considering the public comments, EPA intends to evaluate whether and what action may be warranted. Additional data may be needed before EPA can make a final determination on this pesticide petition.

Pursuant to 40 CFR 180.7(f), a summary of the petition that is the subject of this document, prepared by the petitioner, is included in a docket EPA has created for this rulemaking. The docket for this petition is available at https://www.regulations.gov.

As specified in FFDCA section 408(d)(3), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(3), EPA is publishing notice of the petition so that the public has an opportunity to comment on this request for the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticides in or on food commodities. Further information on the petition may be obtained through the petition summary referenced in this unit.

A. Notice of Filing—Amended Tolerances for Inerts

PP IN–11655. EPA–HQ–OPP–2022–0850. Corteva Agriscience, 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268, requests to amend the tolerance descriptor under 40 CFR 180.560 for residues of cloquintocet-mexyl (acetic acid, [(5-chloro-8-quniolinyl)oxy]-, 1-methylhexyl ester)(CAS Reg. No. 99607–70–2) and its acid metabolite (5-chloro-8-quinlinoxyacetic acid). Corteva is requesting that the active ingredients listed in the tolerance expression be removed so that the safener can be used in any herbicide formulation applied to the commodities listed. There is no proposed change to the numerical tolerance or the listed commodities under § 180.560, as such, this action will not change the magnitude of the residues already established for this safener. Adequate enforcement methodologies have already been published in the Federal Register on June 29, 2011 (76 FR 38035) (FRL–8877–2). The two enforcement methods available are High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Ultraviolet Detection (HPLC–UV) Method REM 138.01 for the determination of cloquintocet-mexyl (parent) and the HPLC–UV Method REM 138.10 which allows for determination of its acid metabolite. Contact: RD.

B. Notice of Filing—New Tolerance Exemptions for Non-Inerts (Except PIPS)

PP 3F9054. EPA–HQ–OPP–2023–0561. GreenLight Biosciences, Inc. 200 Boston Ave., Suite 1000, Medford, MA 02155, requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the miticide vadescana dsRNA in or on honey and honeycomb. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed based on the low toxicity demonstrated in the available toxicological data. Contact: BPPD.

C. Notice of Filing—New Tolerance Exemptions for PIPS

PP 3F9076. EPA–HQ–OPP–2022–0231. Bayer CropScience LP, 700 Chesterfield Pkwy W. Chesterfield, MO 63017, requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR part 174 for residues of the plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs) Bacillus thuringiensis Vpb4Da2 and Brevibacillus laterosporus Mpp75Aa1.1 in or on corn. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because this petition is for a permanent exemption from the requirement of a tolerance without numerical limitation. Contact: BPPD.

D. Notice of Filing—New Tolerances for Non-Inerts

1. PP3E9057. EPA–HQ–OPP–2023–0319. ISK Biosciences Corporation, 7470 Auburn Rd., Suite A, Concord, Ohio 44077, requests to establish petition for import tolerance under FFDCA section 408(d)(1) for residues of fluazinam and its metabolites and degradates in or on asian pear. Import tolerances in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the fungicide, Fluazinam (CAS #79622–59–6) is 3-chloro-N-[3-chloro-2, 6-dinitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-5-(trifluoromethyl)-2-pyridinamine. Other identifiers are B1216, IKF 1216, and PP192. Contact: RD.

2. PP 3E9057. EPA–HQ–OPP–2023–0319. ISK Biosciences Corporation, 7470 Auburn Rd., Suite A, Concord, Ohio 44077, requests to establish an import tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the fungicide fluazinam (3-chloro-N-[3-chloro-2,6-dinitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-5-(trifluoromethyl)-2-pyridinamine) in or on pear, Asian at 0.2 parts per million (ppm). Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) is used to measure and evaluate the chemical fluazinam and its metabolite AMGT. Contact: RD.

3. PP 2F9038. EPA–HQ–OPP–2023–0308. BASF Corporation, 26 Davis Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, requests to establish a tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the herbicide pendimethalin in or on the raw agricultural commodities fig at 0.1 ppm and fig, dried at 3.0 ppm. The method of aqueous organic solvent extraction, column clean up, and quantitation by GC is used to measure and evaluate the chemical pendimethalin and its 3,5-dinitrobenzyl alcohol metabolite (M455H025). Contact: RD.

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 346a.