[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3704-3706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01495]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0693; FRL-9972-65]


FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting and 
Nominations of Ad Hoc Panel Members

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: There will be a 3-day in-person meeting of the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel 
(FIFRA SAP) to consider and review Methods for Efficacy Testing of 
Premises and Soil Treatment for Fire Ant Pesticides. There will also be 
a 3-hour preparatory virtual meeting of the FIFRA SAP to be conducted 
via webcast using Adobe Connect and telephone conferencing. 
Registration will be required to attend this virtual meeting. The date 
and registration instructions for the virtual meeting will be available 
on the FIFRA SAP website http://www.epa.gov/sap by late February to 
mid-March.

DATES: The virtual preparatory meeting will be announced in a future 
Federal Register Notice and on http://www/epa.gov/sap.The in-person 
meeting will be held on May 8 to May 10, 2018, from approximately 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Comments. Written comments on all docketed materials should be 
submitted on or before March 19, 2018. FIFRA SAP may not be able to 
fully consider written comments submitted after March 19, 2018. 
Requests to make oral comments should be submitted on or before April 
16, 2018 by contacting the Designated Federal Official (DFO) listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. For additional instructions, see 
Unit I.C. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Nominations. Nominations of candidates to serve as ad hoc members 
of FIFRA SAP for this meeting should be provided on or before February 
26, 2018.
    Webcast. The in-person meeting may be webcast. Please refer to the 
FIFRA SAP website at http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap for information on 
how to access the webcast. Please note that the webcast is a 
supplementary public process provided only for convenience. If 
difficulties arise resulting in webcasting outages, the meeting will 
continue as planned.
    Special accommodations. For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, and to request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT at least 10 days prior to the meeting to allow EPA time to 
process your request.

ADDRESSES: 
    Meeting: The meeting will be held at the Environmental Protection 
Agency, Conference Center, Lobby Level, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 
2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.
    Comments. Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0693, 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.
     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.
    Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets generally, is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Nominations, requests to present oral comments, and requests for 
special accommodations. Submit nominations to serve as ad hoc members 
of FIFRA SAP, requests for special accommodations, or requests to 
present oral comments to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Marquea D. King, DFO, Office of 
Science Coordination and Policy (7201M), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone 
number: 202-564-3626; email address: [email protected]. You may also 
subscribe to the following listservs to be notified when notices 
regarding this and

[[Page 3705]]

other SAP related activities are published.

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USAEPAOPPT/subscriber/new?topic_id=USAEPAOPPT_101
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USAEPAOPPT/subscribers/qualify

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action may be of interest to the public in general and those 
who are or may be required to conduct testing of chemical substances 
and provide submissions to the EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), FIFRA and/or Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 
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.

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

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or email. If your comments contain any information that 
you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected, please contact the DFO 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special 
instructions before submitting your comments.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting 
your comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

C. How may I participate in this meeting?

    You may participate in this meeting by following the instructions 
in this unit. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that 
you identify docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0693 in the subject line 
on the first page of your request.
    1. Written comments. Written comments should be submitted, using 
the instructions in ADDRESSES and Unit I.B., on or before March 19, 
2018, to provide FIFRA SAP the time necessary to consider and review 
the written comments. FIFRA SAP may not be able to fully consider 
written comments submitted after March 19, 2018.
    2. Oral comments. The Agency encourages each individual or group 
wishing to make brief oral comments to FIFRA SAP to submit their 
request to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or 
before April 16, 2018, in order to be included on the meeting agenda. 
Requests to present oral comments will be accepted until the date of 
the meeting and, to the extent that time permits, the Chair of FIFRA 
SAP may permit the presentation of oral comments at the meeting by 
interested persons who have not previously requested time. Oral 
comments before FIFRA SAP are limited to approximately 5 minutes unless 
arrangements have been made prior to April 16, 2018. The request should 
identify the name of the individual making the presentation, the 
organization (if any) the individual will represent, and any 
requirements for audiovisual equipment. In addition, each speaker 
should bring 20 copies of their oral remarks and presentation slides 
(if required) for distribution to FIFRA SAP at the meeting by the DFO.
    3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at the meeting will be open and 
on a first-come basis.
    4. Request for nominations to serve as ad hoc expert members of 
FIFRA SAP for this meeting. As part of a broader process for developing 
a pool of candidates for each meeting, FIFRA SAP staff routinely 
solicits the stakeholder community for nominations of prospective 
candidates for service as ad hoc members of FIFRA SAP. Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to be 
considered as prospective candidates for a specific meeting. 
Individuals nominated for this meeting should have expertise in one or 
more of the following areas:
    Entomologists and other scientists who are generally familiar with 
pesticide efficacy testing and application methods for public health 
pests including those who are specifically familiar with premises 
pesticide efficacy testing for flies, cockroaches, yellow jackets, 
mosquitoes, and/or ticks; and those who are familiar with pesticide 
efficacy testing for control of field populations of red imported fire 
ants.
    Nominees should be scientists who have sufficient professional 
qualifications, including training and experience, to be capable of 
providing expert comments on the scientific issues for this meeting. 
Nominees should be identified by name, occupation, position, address, 
email address, and telephone number. Nominations should be provided to 
the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or before 
February 26, 2018. The Agency will consider all nominations of 
prospective candidates for this meeting that are received on or before 
that date. However, final selection of ad hoc members for this meeting 
is a discretionary function of the Agency.
    The selection of scientists to serve on FIFRA SAP is based on the 
function of the Panel and the expertise needed to address the Agency's 
charge to the Panel. No interested scientists shall be ineligible to 
serve by reason of their membership on any other advisory committee to 
a Federal department or agency or their employment by a Federal 
department or agency, except EPA. Other factors considered during the 
selection process include availability of the potential Panel member to 
fully participate in the Panel's review, absence of any conflicts of 
interest or appearance of lack of impartiality, independence with 
respect to the matters under review, and lack of bias. Although 
financial conflicts of interest, the appearance of lack of 
impartiality, lack of independence, and bias may result in 
disqualification, the absence of such concerns does not assure that a 
candidate will be selected to serve on FIFRA SAP. Numerous qualified 
candidates are identified for each Panel. Therefore, selection 
decisions involve carefully weighing a number of factors including the 
candidates' areas of expertise and professional qualifications and 
achieving an overall balance of different scientific perspectives on 
the Panel. In order to have the collective breadth of experience needed 
to address the Agency's peer review charge for this meeting, the Agency 
anticipates selecting approximately 12 ad hoc scientists.
    FIFRA SAP members are subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part 
2634--Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, Qualified Trusts, and 
Certificates of Divestiture, as supplemented by EPA in 5 CFR part 6401. 
In anticipation of this requirement, prospective candidates for service 
on FIFRA SAP will be asked to submit confidential financial information 
which shall fully disclose, among other financial interests, the 
candidate's employment, stocks and bonds, and where applicable, sources 
of research support. EPA will evaluate the candidate's financial 
disclosure form to assess whether there are financial conflicts of 
interest, appearance of a lack of impartiality, or any prior 
involvement with the development of the documents under consideration 
(including previous scientific peer review) before the candidate is 
considered further for service on FIFRA SAP. Those who are selected 
from the pool of prospective candidates will be asked to attend the 
public meetings and to participate in the discussion of key issues and 
assumptions at these meetings. In addition, they will be asked

[[Page 3706]]

to review and to help finalize the meeting minutes and the final 
meeting report. The list of FIFRA SAP members participating at this 
meeting will be posted on the FIFRA SAP website at http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap or may be obtained from the OPP Docket at http://www.regulations.gov.

II. Background

A. Purpose of FIFRA SAP

    FIFRA SAP serves as a primary scientific peer review mechanism of 
EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and is 
structured to provide scientific advice, information and 
recommendations to the EPA Administrator on pesticides and pesticide-
related issues as to the impact of regulatory actions on health and the 
environment. FIFRA SAP is a Federal advisory committee established in 
1975 under FIFRA that operates in accordance with requirements of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. Appendix). FIFRA SAP is 
composed of a permanent panel consisting of seven members who are 
appointed by the EPA Administrator from nominees provided by the 
National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. The 
FIFRA SAP is assisted in their reviews by ad hoc participation from 
members of the Science Review Board (SRB). As a scientific peer review 
mechanism, FIFRA SAP provides comments, evaluations, and 
recommendations to improve the effectiveness and quality of analyses 
made by Agency scientists. The FIFRA SAP is not required to reach 
consensus in its recommendations to the Agency but consensus is a 
preferred outcome and possible under FACA.

B. Public Meeting

    EPA-registered pesticide products are an important part of pest 
management programs to accomplish control of invertebrate pests. The 
Agency has a number of guidelines intended to assist in the development 
of appropriate protocols to test product efficacy. EPA Product 
Performance Test Guidelines OPPTS 810.3100 Soil Treatment for Imported 
Fire Ants and OPPTS 810.3500 Premises Treatments were published in 
March 1998. To increase clarity and consistency in efficacy testing and 
to include current scientific standards, the Agency is revising these 
product performance guidelines. The Agency will be seeking advice and 
recommendations from the SAP on scientific issues associated with the 
two proposed revised EPA guidelines.
    The proposed premises treatment guideline contains recommended test 
methodologies for a wide range of products intended to kill, control, 
flush, and/or knockdown invertebrate premises pests, such as 
cockroaches, ticks, mosquitoes, flies, and wasps. The guideline does 
not cover treatment of livestock or pets, wide area-mosquito control, 
or bed bug products. In addition to guidance for testing efficacy of 
direct pesticide application to pests, residual treatments, and 
cockroach and fly baits in the laboratory, the proposed guideline also 
includes field testing methods for outdoor misting systems, Hymenoptera 
nest treatments, and outdoor foggers. Finally, methods for resistance 
ratio determination and characterization of pest population strain 
susceptibility are described.
    The proposed red imported fire ant treatment guideline contains 
recommended test methodologies for evaluating the performance of 
pesticide products for the treatment and control of red imported fire 
ant colonies/mounds. The guideline does not cover premises treatments 
for red imported fire ant workers/foragers, such as direct application 
to pests. Field tests for both mound- and area-applied pesticide 
products are proposed, along with accompanying laboratory studies for 
baits, barrier treatments, and insect growth regulators.

C. FIFRA SAP Documents and Meeting Minutes

    EPA's background paper, draft charge questions to FIFRA SAP, and 
related supporting materials will be available on or before January 22, 
2018. In addition, a list of candidates under consideration as 
prospective ad hoc panelists for this meeting will be available for a 
15-day public comment period in early to mid-March. You may obtain 
electronic copies of most meeting documents, including FIFRA SAP 
composition (i.e., members and ad hoc members for this meeting) and the 
meeting agenda, at http://www.regulations.gov and the FIFRA SAP website 
at http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap.
    FIFRA SAP will prepare the meeting minutes and final report 
summarizing its recommendations to the Agency approximately 90 days 
after the meeting. The meeting minutes and final report will be posted 
on the FIFRA SAP website or may be obtained from the OPP Docket at 
http://www.regulations.gov.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 136 et. seq.; 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.

    Dated: January 9, 2018.
Stanley Barone, Jr.,
Acting Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-01495 Filed 1-25-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


