Notice2023-12672
Proposed Consent Decree, Unreasonable Delay Claim Regarding Petition Seeking Revised Testing Requirements of Pesticides Prior to Registration
Primary source
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Published
June 14, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator's March 18, 2022, Memorandum entitled Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements to Resolve Environmental Claims Against the Agency, notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree that resolves Center for Food Safety, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (4:22-cv-6001-JST) that alleges EPA unreasonably delayed responding to a petition for rulemaking, submitted to EPA on or around July 10, 2017, relating to the revision of testing requirements of pesticides prior to registration.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38861-38862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12672]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0306; FRL-11024-01-OGC]
Proposed Consent Decree, Unreasonable Delay Claim Regarding
Petition Seeking Revised Testing Requirements of Pesticides Prior to
Registration
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed consent decree; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator's March 18, 2022, Memorandum entitled Consent Decrees and
Settlement Agreements to Resolve Environmental Claims Against the
Agency, notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree that
resolves Center for Food Safety, et al. v. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, a case in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of California (4:22-cv-6001-JST) that alleges EPA
unreasonably delayed responding to a petition for rulemaking, submitted
to EPA on or around July 10, 2017, relating to the revision of testing
requirements of pesticides prior to registration.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received
by July 14, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2023-0306, online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> (EPA's preferred
method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID
number for this action. Comments received may be posted without change
to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments, see the
``Additional Information about Commenting on the Proposed Consent
Decree'' heading under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this
document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Payne, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances Law Office; telephone (202) 564-8501; email address:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2e5e4f57404b004f4242475d41406e4b5e4f00494158"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2656475f484308474a4a4f5549486643564708414950">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining a Copy of the Proposed Consent Decree
The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0306) contains a copy of the proposed consent
decree. 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.
The electronic version of the public docket for this action
contains a copy of the proposed consent decree and is available through
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. You may use <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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.''
II. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree
Prior to this lawsuit being filed, EPA received a petition on or
around July 10, 2017, requesting that EPA (1) revise pesticide
registration regulations to take into account all pesticide ingredients
(active, inert and adjuvant) and their effects on the environment; (2)
revise pesticide registration regulations to require whole pesticide
formulation and tank mixture testing to take into account synergistic
effects; (3) revise pesticide registration regulations to require inert
ingredients and whole pesticide formulations testing for chronic
toxicological effects and degradation; (4) revise pesticide
registration regulations to require Endangered Species Act (ESA)
consultation on the effects of whole pesticide formulations and tank
mixtures on threatened and endangered species; and (5) assuming the
regulations were revised as petitioners have requested, petitioners
also request that EPA apply those revised regulations in conducting
statutorily-mandated registration reviews of pesticides (hereinafter,
these requests will be referred to as the ``2017 Petition Requests'').
EPA sought public comment on the 2017 Petition. See Petition Seeking
Revised Testing Requirements of Pesticides Prior to Registration;
Request for Comment, 83 FR 65672 (December 21, 2018) (the ``Request for
Comment''). EPA received approximately 564 comments. Plaintiffs filed a
Complaint on October 12, 2022, alleging that EPA's failure to respond
to the petition constitutes an unreasonable delay under Section 706(1)
of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 706(1).
This proposed consent decree states that no later than September
29, 2023, the appropriate EPA official shall, by letter, either grant,
deny, or grant in part and deny in part each of the 2017 Petition
Requests. Court approval of this proposed consent decree would resolve
all claims in this case except for the claim for the costs of
litigation, including reasonable attorneys' fees.
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 consent decree 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 consent decree if the
comments disclose facts or considerations that indicate that such
consent is inappropriate, improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with
the requirements of the APA or FIFRA. Unless EPA or the Department of
Justice determines that consent should be withdrawn, the terms of the
proposed consent decree will be affirmed and entered with the Court.
III. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent
Decree
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-
0306 via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from this docket.
[[Page 38862]]
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not
submit to EPA's docket at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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. EPA will
generally 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, the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>. For additional information
about submitting information identified as CBI, please contact the
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
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. 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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.
Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified
comment period. Comments received after the close of the comment period
will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these late
comments.
Randolph L. Hill,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-12672 Filed 6-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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