Draft National Level Listed Species Biological Evaluation for Simazine
In November 2020, EPA released the draft Biological Evaluation (BE) assessing risks to listed species from labeled uses of simazine. Listed species refers to those that are federally listed as endangered or threatened, as well as experimental populations and those species that are proposed and candidates for listing. The draft BE was conducted according to the Revised Method for National Level Listed Species Biological Evaluations of Conventional Pesticides.
The Revised Method described in this document incorporates:
- Recommendations from the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS);
- EPA’s “lessons learned” during the first three pilot BEs;
- Public comments provided through stakeholder meetings, the docket on the draft BEs for chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion, and the docket on the proposed Revised Method;
- Comments received during consultation with federally recognized tribes; and
- Input provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and the US Department of Agriculture.
The Draft BE for atrazine is provided below. The models and tools used in triazine BEs can be found here.
Commenters are instructed to post comments to the BE docket (see EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0514 at www.regulations.gov). The docket will be open for comment for 60 days after the Federal Register Notice (FRN) (FRL: 10015-77) announcing the availability of the draft BEs. View the prepublication notice of the biological evaluation for atrazine, simazine, and propazine. Additional information for commenters, including specific aspects of the draft BEs for which the EPA is seeking comment, will be available in the FRN.
Draft Simazine Executive Summary (DOCX)(5 pp, 53 K)
Chapter 1: Draft Simazine Problem Formulation (DOCX)(8 pp, 52 K)
Attachments
- ATTACHMENT 1-1. Methodology for Estimating Exposures to Terrestrial Animals (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates) (DOCX)(17 pp, 101 K)
- ATTACHMENT 1-2. Aquatic Bin Assignments (XLSX)(1 pg, 452 K)
- ATTACHMENT 1-3. Explanation of Census Of Agriculture Table Generation (PDF)(6 pp, 396 K)
- ATTACHMENT 1-4. Usage Data Source Summary-Crosswalk (PDF)(2 pp, 1,924 K)
- ATTACHMENT 1-5. PVP Analysis (DOCX) (15 pp, 1,292 K)
Appendices
- APPENDIX 1-1. List of Current Simazine Registrations (DOCX)(28 pp, 29 K)
- APPENDIX 1-2. Commitment Letters (PDF)(10 pp, 1,046 MB)
- APPENDIX 1-3. Simazine Scenario Development (DOCX)(5 pp, 50 K)
- APPENDIX 1-4. Usage Data for Simazine (PDF)(17 pp, 643 K)
- APPENDIX 1-5. CDL to UDL Crosswalk for Simazine (DOCX)(5 pp, 52 K)
- APPENDIX 1-6. Use Site Footprint for Simazine (DOCX)(10 pp, 56 K)
- APPENDIX 1-7. Determination of Overlap of Likely Simazine Exposure Area and Listed Species Ranges and Critical Habitat for Species Located in the 48 Contiguous United States (ConUS) (DOCX)(27 pp, 1,801 MB)
- APPENDIX 1-8. Evaluation of Residues of Concern for Triazine ESA Biological Evaluations (DOCX)(5 pp, 51 K)
Chapter 2: Draft Simazine Effects Characterization (DOCX)(55 pp, 901 K)
Attachments
- ATTACHMENT 2-1. Effects Arrays (DOCX)(1 pp, 34 K)
- ATTACHMENT 2-2. Ecological Incidents (DOCX)(2 pp, 36 K)
Appendices
- APPENDIX 2-1. Data Used in the Data Array (XLSM)(1 pg, 977 K)
- APPENDIX 2-2. Accepted ECOTOX Database (XLSX)(1 pg, 9,322 MB)
- APPENDIX 2-3. Open Literature Review for Simazine (DOCX)(7 pp, 846 K)
- APPENDIX 2-4. Simazine Studies Submitted to US EPA [from Office of Pesticide Programs Information Network (OPPIN)] (DOCX)(53 pg, 109 K)
- APPENDIX 2-5. Simazine Species Sensitivity Distribution Analysis for Aquatic Plants (DOCX)(6 pp, 210 K)
Chapter 3: Draft Simazine Exposure Characterization (DOCX) (24 pp, 785 K)
Attachments
- ATTACHMENT 3-1: Background Document: Aquatic Exposure Estimation for Endangered Species (DOCX)(29 pp, 657 K)
Appendices
- APPENDIX 3-1. Supporting Material For Aquatic Modeling (Simazine) (XLSX)(1 pg, 586 K)
- APPENDIX 3-2. Aquatic Modeling Runs (Simazine) (Please save this file prior to opening) (ZIP)(1 pg, 628 K)
Chapter 4: Draft Simazine Effects Determinations (DOCX)(14 pp, 84 K)
Attachments
Appendices
- APPENDIX 4-1. Species Effects Determination Tables (XLSX)(1 pg, 6,511 MB)
- APPENDIX 4-2. Input Parameters for MAGtool (XLSX)(1 pg, 12 K)
- APPENDIX 4-3. Curve Number Scaling Factors (XLSX)(1 pg, 245 K)
- APPENDIX 4-4. Application Date Scaling Factors (XLSX)(1 pg, 20 K)
- APPENDIX 4-5. Analysis of Granular (DOCX)(1 pg, 29 K)
- APPENDIX 4-6. Analysis Method and Results for Downstream Monitoring (DOCX)(5 pp, 3 K)
- APPENDIX 4-7. Downstream Monitoring Analysis (XLSX)(1 pg, 3 K)
- APPENDIX 4-8. Additional Qualitative Species Analyses (DOCX)(5 pp, 39 K)
- APPENDIX 4-9. MAGtool and Weight of Evidence Output for Individual Species (ZIP)(1 pg, 58,218 MB)