March 19, 2021

Petition Filed in D.C. Appellate Court Seeking Review of EPA’s Conditional Registration of Aldicarb for Use on Oranges and Grapefruit in Florida

On March 3, 2021, the Farmworker Association of Florida, Environmental Working Group, and Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) order registering the use of the pesticide aldicarb on oranges and grapefruit in Florida as set forth in: EPA published a Federal Register notice on December 7, 2020, announcing that it had received applications to register new...
March 16, 2021

EFSA Begins Public Consultation on Draft Updated Guidance on Assessing the Exposure of Operators, Workers, Residents, and Bystanders in Risk Assessment for Plant Protection Products

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced on March 15, 2021, that it has begun a public consultation on a draft updated Guidance on the assessment of exposure of operators, workers, residents, and bystanders in risk assessment for plant protection products (PPP).  According to EFSA, the Guidance is designed to assist risk assessors and applicants when quantifying potential non-dietary, systemic exposures as part of the regulatory risk assessment for PPPs.  The Guidance is based on...
March 9, 2021

EPA Proposes to Cancel FIFRA Registration for Pentachlorophenol

On March 5, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that “in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to making evidence-based decisions to protect human health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking an important step by proposing the cancellation of the registration of pentachlorophenol.” Pentachlorophenol, a well-recognized wood preservative in use for decades, is registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act...
February 3, 2021

EPA Announces Approval of Extensions to August 24, 2020, First-Ever Long-Lasting Antiviral Product for Use against COVID-19

On January 19, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the issuance of a Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 18 emergency exemption to the states of Oklahoma and Arkansas, permitting American Airlines to use SurfaceWise2, believed to inactivate coronaviruses like the SARS-CoV-2 virus on surfaces, in specific airport facilities and planes.  EPA also has revised the terms of use for SurfaceWise2 for all current emergency...
February 3, 2021

Court Grants EPA’s Motion to Vacate and Remand Final Rule on “Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and Influential Scientific Information”

On February 1, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana granted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) January 31, 2021, unopposed motion to vacate and remand its January 6, 2021, final rule on “Strengthening Transparency in Pivotal Science Underlying Significant Regulatory Actions and Influential Scientific Information” (86 Fed. Reg. 469).  EDF v. EPA, No. 4:21-cv-03-BMM.  On January 11, 2021, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Montana...
February 2, 2021

EPA Announces Request for Public Input on the Current Pesticide Exemption Provision Process

On January 19, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit information on the current pesticide exemption provision process. EPA announced that it is considering whether regulatory and policy changes are needed to improve the exemption provisions for pesticides that may be considered minimum risk under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).  EPA states...
February 2, 2021

EPA Announces the Issuance of a Revised Advisory on Disinfectants Making False and Misleading Claims against COVID-19

In January 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) announced that it issued a revised compliance advisory (Advisory) on products claiming to kill SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.  EPA first issued this guidance on June 1, 2020, and it is discussed in our blog here. The Advisory has been revised significantly, reflecting new developments and experience since the Advisory was...
January 29, 2021

EPA Announces Approval of Airborne Antiviral Treatment Product for Use against COVID-19

On January 15, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the issuance of a Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 18 emergency exemption to the states of Georgia and Tennessee permitting the use of an air treatment product, Grignard Pure, in health care facilities, intrastate transportation, food processing facilities, and indoor spaces within buildings — including government facilities — where people are conducting...
January 27, 2021

Deadline for Filing Annual Pesticide Production Reports — March 1, 2021

The March 1, 2021, deadline for all establishments, foreign and domestic, that produce pesticides, devices, or active ingredients to file their annual production for the 2020 reporting year is fast approaching.  Pursuant to Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 7(c)(1) (7 U.S.C. § 136e(c)(1)), “Any producer operating an establishment registered [under Section 7] shall inform the Administrator within 30 days after it is registered of the types and amounts of...
January 5, 2021

Drug Facility Fees Will Not Apply to Distilleries Producing Hand Sanitizer

Last week, press reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would assess distilleries making hand sanitizer $14,060 in fees as Monograph Drug Facilities (MDF) under the Over-the-Counter (OTC) Monograph Drug user fee program for fiscal year (FY) 2021.  Several days later, on December 31, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Public Affairs tweeted a statement from Brian Harrison, HHS Chief of Staff.  According to the...