2021-02573. Notice of Receipt of Requests to Voluntarily Cancel Certain Pesticide Registrations

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is issuing a notice of receipt of requests by registrants to voluntarily cancel certain pesticide registrations. EPA intends to grant these requests at the close of the comment period for this announcement unless the Agency receives substantive comments within the comment period that would merit its further review of the requests, or unless the registrants withdraw its requests. If these requests are granted, any sale, distribution, or use of products listed in this notice will be permitted after the registrations have been cancelled only if such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms as described in the final order.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before August 9, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0144, by one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://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.

Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001.

Submit written withdrawal request by mail: Christopher Green, Registration Division (7502P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001.

Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the instructions at http://www.epa.gov/​dockets/​contacts.html.

Due to the public health concerns related to COVID-19, the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) and Reading Room is closed to visitors with limited exceptions. The staff continues to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and webform. For the latest status information on EPA/DC services and docket access, visit https://www.epa.gov/​dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christopher Green, Registration Division (7502P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: [phone]; email address: [e-mail].

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 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.

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 http://www.epa.gov/​dockets/​comments.html.

II. What action is the Agency taking?

This notice announces receipt by EPA of requests from registrants to cancel certain pesticide products. registered under FIFRA section 3 (7 U.S.C. 136a) or 24(c) (7 U.S.C. 136v(c)). The affected products and the registrants making the requests are identified in Tables 1-3 of this unit.

Unless a request is withdrawn by the registrant or if the Agency determines that there are substantive comments that warrant further review of this request, EPA intends to issue an order in the Federal Register canceling the affected registrations.

Table 1—Product Registrations With Pending Requests for Cancellation

Registration No.	Company No.	Product name	Active ingredients
100-1117	100	Touchdown Herbicide	Glyphosate.
100-1121	100	Touchdown Pro Herbicide	Glyphosate.
100-1122	100	Touchdown Liquid Concentrate	Glyphosate.
100-1157	100	Touchdown CF Herbicide	Glycine, N-(phosphonomethyl)-, diammonium salt.
100-1179	100	Touchdown Diquat Home and Garden Concentrate	Diquat dibromide & Glyphosate.
100-1182	100	Touchdown Hitech Herbicide	Glycine, N-(phosphonomethyl)- potassium salt.
100-1212	100	Touchdown CT Herbicide	Glycine, N-(phosphonomethyl)- potassium salt.
100-1362	100	Refuge Herbicide	Glycine, N-(phosphonomethyl)- potassium salt.

The registrant of the products listed in Table 1 of Unit II, requested the effective date of the cancellations to be November 02, 2020.

Table 2—Product Registrations With Pending Requests for Cancellation

Registration No.	Company No.	Product name	Active ingredients
241-343	241	Tri-4 HF Herbicide	Trifluralin.
7969-88	7969	Poast Plus Herbicide	Sethoxydim.
7969-194	7969	Rezult Herbicide	Sethoxydim.
7969-277	7969	BAS 800 02/03 Powered by Kixor Herbicide	Saflufenacil.
7969-294	7969	Sethoxydim Manufacturer's Use Product	Sethoxydim.

Table 3 of this unit includes the names and addresses of record for all registrants of the products in Table1 and Table 2 of this unit, in sequence by EPA company number. This number corresponds to the first part of the EPA registration numbers of the products listed in Table 1 and Table 2 of this unit.

Table 3—Registrants Requesting Voluntary Cancellation

EPA company No.	Company name and address
100	Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, 410 Swing Road, P.O. Box 18300, Greensboro, NC 27419-8300.
241	BASF Corporation, 26 Davis Drive, P.O. Box 13528, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3528.
7969	BASF Corporation, Agricultural Products Division, 26 Davis Drive, P.O. Box 13528, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3528.

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

Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA (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 be canceled or amended to terminate one or more uses. FIFRA further provides that, before acting on the request, EPA must publish a notice of receipt of any such request in the Federal Register.

Section 6(f)(1)(B) of FIFRA (7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1)(B)) requires that before acting on a request for voluntary cancellation, EPA must provide a 30-day public comment period on the request for voluntary cancellation or use termination. In addition, FIFRA section 6(f)(1)(C) (7 U.S.C. 136d(f)(1)(C)) requires that EPA provide a 180-day comment period on a request for voluntary cancellation or termination of any minor agricultural use before granting the request, unless:

1. The registrants request a waiver of the comment period, or

2. The EPA Administrator determines that continued use of the pesticide would pose an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.

The registrants listed in Table 3 of Unit II have not requested that EPA waive the 180-day comment period. Accordingly, EPA will provide a 180-day comment period on the proposed requests.

IV. Procedures for Withdrawal of Request

Registrants who choose to withdraw a request for product cancellation should submit the withdrawal in writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. If the products have been subject to a previous cancellation action, the effective date of cancellation and all other provisions of any earlier cancellation action are controlling.

V. 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.

In any order issued in response to these requests for cancellation of product registrations EPA proposes to include the following provisions for the treatment of any existing stocks of the products listed in Table 1 and Table 2 of Unit II.

For products 100-1117, 100-1121, 100-1122, 100-1157, 100-1179, 100-1182, 100-1212, and 100-1362.

For products 100-1117, 100-1121, 100-1122, 100-1157, 100-1179, 100-1182, 100-1212, and 100-1362 listed in Table 1 of Unit II, the registrant has requested the effective date of the cancellations to be November 2, 2020; therefore, the registrant will be permitted to sell and distribute existing stocks of this product until November 2, 2021. Thereafter, the registrant will be prohibited from selling or distributing the product in Table 1 of Unit II, except for export consistent with FIFRA section 17 (7 U.S.C. 136o) or for proper disposal.

For all other voluntary product cancellations, listed in Table 2 of Unit II, the registrants will be permitted to sell and distribute existing stocks of voluntarily canceled products for 1 year after the effective date of the cancellation, which will be the date of publication of the cancellation order in the Federal Register. Thereafter, registrants will be prohibited from selling or distributing the products identified in Table 2 of Unit II, except for export consistent with FIFRA section 17 (7 U.S.C. 136o) or for proper disposal.

Persons other than the registrant may sell, distribute, or use existing stocks of canceled products until supplies are exhausted, provided that such sale, distribution, or use is consistent with the terms of the previously approved labeling on, or that accompanied, the canceled products.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.

Dated: November 23, 2020.

Marietta Echeverria,

Acting Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.