Notice2023-20678
Pesticides; Request for Stakeholder Input on the Proposed Design of a New Grant Program Regarding the Health Care Provider (HCP) Training Program; Notice of Availability and Opportunity for Comment
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 25, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of a Request for Information (RFI) that seeks public comment on a proposed design for the new grant program related to the Health Care Provider (HCP) Training Program, a cooperative agreement to help medical professionals better prevent, recognize, treat, and manage pesticide-related illness. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (referred to as PRIA 5) included set-asides of up to $2.5 million for fiscal years 2023-2027 to fund the HCP Training Program. PRIA 5 also requires EPA to seek input from persons who conduct farmworker education and training, or technical assistance and training of healthcare providers, to inform the design of the grant program. EPA has previously solicited input on the HCP Training Program design through its Federal advisory committees, which include representatives of these stakeholders. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit additional stakeholder feedback from a broad array of individuals and organizations with knowledge and expertise related to the goals of the HCP Training Program. Additional public input, including environmental justice perspectives, will help the Agency refine the HCP Training Program and design a grant program to more effectively support populations that have historically been at high risk from pesticide-related illness.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 184 (Monday, September 25, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 184 (Monday, September 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65674-65676]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20678]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0457; FRL-11399-01-OCSPP]
Pesticides; Request for Stakeholder Input on the Proposed Design
of a New Grant Program Regarding the Health Care Provider (HCP)
Training Program; Notice of Availability and Opportunity for Comment
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the
availability of a Request for Information (RFI) that seeks public
comment on a proposed design for the new grant program related to the
Health Care Provider (HCP) Training Program, a cooperative agreement to
help medical professionals better prevent, recognize, treat, and manage
pesticide-related illness. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act
of 2022 (referred to as PRIA 5) included set-asides of up to $2.5
million for fiscal years 2023-2027 to fund the HCP Training Program.
PRIA 5 also requires EPA to seek input from
[[Page 65675]]
persons who conduct farmworker education and training, or technical
assistance and training of healthcare providers, to inform the design
of the grant program. EPA has previously solicited input on the HCP
Training Program design through its Federal advisory committees, which
include representatives of these stakeholders. The purpose of this RFI
is to solicit additional stakeholder feedback from a broad array of
individuals and organizations with knowledge and expertise related to
the goals of the HCP Training Program. Additional public input,
including environmental justice perspectives, will help the Agency
refine the HCP Training Program and design a grant program to more
effectively support populations that have historically been at high
risk from pesticide-related illness.
DATES: Submit your comments on or before November 24, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0457, through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. 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 or visiting the docket, along with more
information about dockets generally, is available at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aidan Black, Office of Chemical Safety
and Pollution Prevention, Pesticide Re-evaluation Division (7508M),
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington,
DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 202-566-2381; email address:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4b29272a2820652a222f2a250b2e3b2a652c243d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5c3e303d3f37723d35383d321c392c3d723b332a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Executive Summary
A. Does this action apply to me?
This notice is directed to the general public and may be of
specific interest to entities that conduct education and training of
farmworkers, or technical assistance and training of healthcare
providers (e.g., governmental and non-governmental organizations, non-
profits, community-based organizations, academic institutions, research
institutions, medical institutions, medical associations, community
health centers and clinics, public health administration and
environmental health administration programs, Indian Tribes, and
private sector entities). Because others may also be interested in this
notice, EPA has not attempted to describe all the entities that may be
interested in the subject covered in this notice.
B. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?
The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (referred to as
PRIA 5), Public Law 117-328, amended the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq., to
include up to $2,500,000 of set-aside funds for an HCP Training
Program. Funds are for fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
Under PRIA section 703(a)(1)(H)(i), the HCP Training Program should
provide grants to nonprofit organizations to help medical professionals
better prevent, recognize, treat, and manage pesticide-related illness
through technical assistance and training; the development of
informational materials for technical assistance and training; and the
development of outreach and delivery methods.
PRIA section 703(a)(1)(H)(ii) specifies that only nonprofit
organizations with demonstrated experience in providing training and
technical assistance to health care providers who serve farmworker
populations are eligible to receive this funding.
C. Why is EPA taking this action?
This action satisfies PRIA section 703(a)(1)(K)(iv) which requires
that EPA seek, in an open and transparent manner that does not provide
a competitive advantage to any person or persons, input from persons
who conduct farmworker education and training, or technical assistance
and training of healthcare providers.
D. What should I consider as I prepare my comments?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI to EPA through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or email. If you wish to include CBI in your
comment, please follow the applicable instructions at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets#rules">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets#rules</a> and clearly mark the
part or all of the information that you claim to be 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 <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
II. Background
EPA previously solicited feedback from the Farmworker and Clinician
Training Workgroup of the Pesticide Programs Dialogue Committee (PPDC),
a Federal advisory committee group. The PPDC workgroup--which included
representatives of community-based organizations that serve
farmworkers, healthcare providers, and Indian Tribes; university
extension programs; industry; State regulators; farm bureaus; other
Federal agencies; and current grantees under EPA cooperative
agreements--met monthly for most of a year and formulated a set of nine
recommendations (the recommendations can be found at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-10/presentation-farmworker-and-clinician-training-workgroup-recommendations.pdf">https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-10/presentation-farmworker-and-clinician-training-workgroup-recommendations.pdf</a>). The National
Environmental Justice Advisory Council and the Children's Health
Protection Advisory Committee provided related anecdotes and reiterated
some of the recommendations of the PPDC workgroup. EPA has incorporated
these recommendations into the proposed program design. The Request for
Information (RFI), which is available in the docket, seeks additional
feedback to build upon those recommendations.
III. Request for Public Comment
A. What feedback does EPA hope to gain from the public comments?
In the RFI, the Agency has proposed a design for the HCP Training
Program and has posed a series of questions on that design. Generally,
EPA is interested in comments about the types of activities the program
could support; about populations at high risk of pesticide-related
illness (and who would thus benefit from more highly trained
clinicians); and about additional ways to ensure that training and
technical assistance under the program accounts for the cultural
context, social determinants of health, and vulnerabilities of those
populations.
The project objectives are: (1) Administer a national training and
technical assistance program to improve the prevention, recognition,
treatment, management, and reporting of pesticide-related illness by
HCP; and (2) Administer a partnership program to inform the Objective 1
activities and ensure they have both national reach
[[Page 65676]]
and local applicability. Each objective has both subobjectives and
suggested emphasis areas. For the complete program design, please
consult the RFI. EPA's questions are as follows:
<bullet> How can EPA and future grantees expand upon the work done
through previous cooperative agreements to build HCP capacity,
capitalize on existing resources, and avoid duplicating efforts?
<bullet> What populations--besides farmworkers, pesticide handlers,
and applicators--are at high risk of pesticide-related illness and
would benefit from more highly trained HCPs?
<bullet> How can EPA ensure that activities under Objective 1
(training and technical assistance) are responsive to the social
determinants of health, cultural context, and vulnerabilities of
patients at high risk of pesticide-related illness?
<bullet> What steps can future grantees take to ensure that
recognition, treatment, and management of pesticide-related illness
continue to improve at local partner organizations after the project
has concluded? What steps can they take to ensure that reporting
continues to improve?
<bullet> What networks, organizations, and stakeholders are
examples of collaborators under Objective 2 (partnership program)?
Which could be effective at monitoring and evaluating the project?
<bullet> What are examples of activities that this cooperative
agreement could support under Objective 1 (training and technical
assistance)? Under Objective 2 (partnership program)?
<bullet> Do the objectives, as written, exclude any collaborators
or activities that would support the program goals?
B. What is the request for information?
In addition to soliciting comment on the questions posed in Unit
III.A. of this document, EPA is seeking stakeholder input on the RFI
document that is available in the docket. Specifically, EPA is
interested in comments about the types of activities the program could
support; about populations at high risk of pesticide-related illness
(and who would thus benefit from more highly trained clinicians); and
about additional ways to ensure that training and technical assistance
under the program accounts for the cultural context, social
determinants of health, and vulnerabilities of these populations.
EPA encourages all potentially interested parties, including
individuals, professional associations, governmental and non-
governmental organizations, academic institutions, research
institutions, medical institutions, non-profits, community-based
organizations, Indian Tribes, and private sector entities to provide
responses to any or all questions. To the extent possible, the Agency
asks commenters to please cite any public data related to or that
supports the responses, and to the extent permissible, describe any
supporting data that is not publicly available.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.
Dated: September 19, 2023.
Michal Freedhoff,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2023-20678 Filed 9-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 25, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.