Request for Public Comment on Proposed Stipulated Injunction
Involving Pesticides and the California Red-legged Frog
[Federal Register: September 1, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 170)]
[Notices]
[Page 52073-52075]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01se06-38]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0702; FRL-8090-9]
Request for Public Comment on Proposed Stipulated Injunction
Involving Pesticides and the California Red-legged Frog
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: EPA is making available for comment a proposed Stipulated
Injunction that would affect aspects of the registrations of certain
pesticides and establish a series of deadlines for the Agency to make
``effects determinations'' and initiate consultation, as appropriate,
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for these pesticides in regard
to the California red-legged frog, a species listed as threatened under
the Endangered Species Act. EPA will evaluate all comments received
during the public comment period to determine whether all or part of
the proposed Stipulated Injunction warrants reconsideration. This
proposed Stipulated Injunction, if entered by the Court, would resolve
a lawsuit brought against EPA by the Center for Biological Diversity,
on terms also acceptable to intervenors CropLife America, American
Forest & Paper Association, Western Plant Health Association,
Oregonians for Food and Shelter, and Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 18, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0702, by one of the following methods:
? Federal eRulemaking Portal:http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
? Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
? Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P),
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South
Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The
Docket telephone number is(703) 305-5805.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2006-0702. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-
mail. The Federal regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access''
system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through
regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and
included as part of the comment that is placed in the docket and made
available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA
recommends that you include your name and other contact information in
the body of your comment and with any disk orCD ROM you submit. 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. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters,
any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index.
Although
[[Page 52074]]
listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g.,
CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on
the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.
Publicly available docket materials are available either in the
electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available
in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One
Potomac Yard (South Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA.
The hours of operation of this Docket are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket telephone
number is (703) 305-5805.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arty Williams, Environmental Fate and
Effects Division (7507P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 305-7695; fax number: (703) 305-6309; e-
mail address: williams.arty@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general, and may be of
particular interest to the Center for Biological Diversity, CropLife
America, American Forest & Paper Association, Western Plant Health
Association, Oregonians for Food and Shelter, and Syngenta Crop
Protection, Inc., other public interest groups, state regulatory
partners, other interested Federal agencies, other pesticide
registrants and pesticide users. Since other entities may also be
interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific
entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any questions
regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity,
consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
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 e-mail. 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 submitting comments,
remember to:
i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. What Action is the Agency Taking?
EPA is making available in the docket (http://www.regulations.gov) and on
EPA's Web site (http://www.epa.gov/espp/) a proposed Stipulated Injunction for
comment. The proposed Stipulated Injunction would affect aspects of the
registrations of certain pesticides and establish a series of deadlines
for the Agency to make ``effects determinations'' and initiate
consultation, as appropriate, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) for 66 pesticides relative to potential effects to the California
red-legged frog, a species listed as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA). EPA will evaluate all comments received during the
public comment period to determine whether all or part of the proposed
Stipulated Injunction warrants reconsideration. This proposed
Stipulated Injunction, if entered by the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California, would resolve a lawsuit
brought against EPA by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD or
plaintiff) on terms also acceptable to CropLife America, American
Forest & Paper Association, Western Plant Health Association, Oregonians
for Food and Shelter, and Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. (intervenors).
III. Background
On April 2, 2002, plaintiff filed a lawsuit in the Federal District
Court for the Northern District of California alleging that EPA failed
to comply with 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 regarding the California red-legged
frog (Center for Biological Diversity v. Stephen L. Johnson, et al.,
Civil No. CO2-1580-JSW (N.D. Cal.)). On September 19, 2005, the court
ruled that EPA was required, pursuant to section 7(a)(2) of the ESA, to
make ``effects determinations'' for 66 pesticide active ingredients and
initiate consultation with the FWS as appropriate. EPA has reached an
agreement with the plaintiff and intervenors that would establish a
schedule for EPA to make such determinations and initiate consultation
as appropriate, and would include interim injunctive measures intended
to reduce the potential exposure of the California red-legged frog to
these pesticides, while EPA satisfies its section 7(a)(2) consultation
obligations. The agreement is embodied in a proposed Stipulated Injunction.
The 66 pesticide active ingredients named in the lawsuit are:
Acephate; alachlor; aldicarb; atrazine; azinphos-methyl; bensulide;
bromacil; captan; carbaryl; chloropicrin; chlorothalonil; chlorpyrifos;
chlorthal-dimethyl (DCPA); 2,4-D; diazinon; 1,3-dichlorpropene;
dicofol; diflubenzuron; dimethoate; disulfoton; diuron; endosulfan;
EPTC; esfenvalerate; fenamiphos; glyphosate; hexazinone; imazapyr;
iprodione; linuron; malathion; mancozeb; maneb; metam sodium;
methamidophos; methidathion; methomyl; methoprene; methyl parathion;
metolachlor; molinate; myclobutanil; naled; norflurazon; oryzalin;
oxamyl; oxydemeton-methyl; oxyfluoren; paraquat dichloride;
pendimethalin; permethrin; phorate; phosmet; prometryn; propanil;
propargite; propyzamide (pronamide); rotenone; simazine; SSS-tributyl
phosphororithiolate (DEF or Tribufos); strychnine; thiobencarb;
triclopyr; trifluralin; vinclozolin; and ziram.
In addition, the Stipulated Injunction would (with some exceptions)
enjoin, vacate, and set aside EPA's authorization of certain
pesticides' uses in all areas described by the FWS as aquatic breeding,
non-breeding aquatic, and upland critical habitat for the California
red-legged frog, in certain other aquatic features and upland
[[Page 52075]]
habitats occupied by the California red-legged frog, and in adjoining
buffer zones. The injunctive relief, vacatur, and setting aside of
EPA's authorizations would terminate for a particular use of a
pesticide upon the completion of EPA's ESA section 7(a)(2) consultation
obligations (including a ``no effect'' determination) for the
particular use of the pesticide. The Stipulated Injunction would also
require EPA to develop and distribute a brochure regarding the
California red-legged frog, frogs generally and environmental
contaminants, and certain aspects of the Stipulated Injunction.
Beginning today, EPA is opening a 15-day comment period on the
proposed Stipulated Injunction. EPA will use the comments to determine
whether all or part of the proposed Stipulated Injunction warrants
reconsideration. If EPA determines that any part of the proposed
Stipulated Injunction merits reconsideration, EPA will provide the
plaintiff with a written request for further negotiations and the
proposed Stipulated Injunction shall not be entered with the Court
unless the parties can reach agreement on needed changes. If EPA
determines that the proposed Stipulated Injunction does not need to be
reconsidered, the terms of the proposed Stipulated Injunction shall
become effective upon entry by the United States District Court for the
Northern District of California. Once the Stipulated Injunction is
entered by the U.S. District Court, EPA will post on its Web site at
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides a notice indicating the Stipulated
Injunction has been so entered.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Endangered species.
Dated: August 25, 2006.
James B. Gulliford,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances.
[FR Doc. E6-14616 Filed 8-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
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