The March 1, 2024, deadline for all establishments, foreign and domestic, that produce pesticides, devices, or active ingredients to file their annual production for the 2023 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 25, 2024
Recording Available for “What to Expect in Chemicals Policy and Regulation and on Capitol Hill in 2024” Webinar
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) January 23, 2024, webinar, “What to Expect in Chemicals Policy and Regulation and on Capitol Hill in 2024,” is now available for on-demand viewing. During this one-hour webinar Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C; James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant, B&C; and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C participated in a lively, timely, and focused discussion on the state of play and how they...
January 9, 2024
EPA Announces 2024 Annual Pesticide Maintenance Fee Forms Available to Download from EPA Website — Deadline for Paying Is January 16, 2024
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the annual pesticide registration maintenance fee materials for fiscal year 2024. The January 16, 2024, deadline for payment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) annual maintenance fee for pesticide registrations is fast approaching. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 4(i)(1)(A) requires everyone who holds an active or suspended pesticide registration granted under FIFRA Sections 3...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 22, 2023, that it has registered biopesticide products containing the new active ingredient Ledprona for three years, “a timeframe that is consistent with EPA’s approach to other novel biopesticide products.” Ledprona is a new type of pesticide that relies on a natural mechanism, RNA interference (RNAi), used by plants and insects to protect against disease. As reported in our October 12, 2023, blog item, Ledprona is...
On November 14, 2023, the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) Coalition hosted a webinar for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide an overview of the process improvement to release Data Evaluation Records (DER) to the registrant with the final registration decision, as mandated under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5). PRIA 5 requires EPA to release to the applicant at the decision review time the complete DERs for studies submitted...
On November 2, 2023, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (Eighth Circuit) issued its decision in Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Ass’n v. Regan, No. 22-1422 (8th Cir. 2023) regarding the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops (Decision). The court concluded that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) August 2021 revocation of all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos was arbitrary and capricious, and remanded the matter back to EPA for further review. Chlorpyrifos was...
November 6, 2023
EPA Seeks Public Comment on Whether to Limit the Scope of the Treated Article Exemption
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on October 12, 2023, soliciting public comment and suggestions on specific issues related to seed treated with conventional pesticides (treated seed) and paint treated with conventional or antimicrobial pesticides (treated paint). 88 Fed. Reg. 70625. According to the ANPRM, EPA is considering whether a rule under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to regulate...
October 12, 2023
Comments Due October 13, 2023, on EPA’s Proposal to Register Novel Pesticide Technology for Potato Crops
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 29, 2023, that it is proposing to register pesticide products containing the new active ingredient ledprona for three years, a timeframe consistent with EPA’s approach to other novel pesticide products. EPA states that ledprona “is a new type of pesticide that relies on a natural mechanism — called RNA interference (RNAi) — used by plants and insects to protect against disease.” The proposed biopesticide...
October 10, 2023
EPA Releases Final Guidance for New Pesticide Applications and Registration Review Activities That Require Endangered Species Act Reviews
On September 14, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of final guidance to improve the efficiency of EPA’s Endangered Species Act (ESA) analyses for new pesticide active ingredient applications and active ingredients undergoing registration review. EPA states this guidance fulfills requirements outlined in the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5) and furthers goals outlined in EPA’s 2022 ESA Workplan to protect listed species from...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on August 4, 2023, that it is providing resources to help biotechnology developers exercise the full benefits of the exemptions available under the Plant Incorporated Protectants (PIP) exemption rule. These resources are available on EPA’s public website and include the following: The PIPs Exemption Final Rule went into effect on July 31, 2023. More information on the final rule is available in our June 2,...
September 5, 2023
EPA Announces Release of Final Guidance and Methods to Control Public Health Pathogens on Soft Surface Textiles in Non-Residential Settings
On August 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of final guidance and methods for evaluating efficacy claims of antimicrobial products registered to reduce bacteria and viruses on soft surface textiles. EPA states that throughout the guidance, the term “soft surface textile” refers to a soft, porous, or non-porous surface that includes the outer surface of non-clothing fabrics/textiles in clinical and...
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) will host a “first-ever Summit on the future of farm subsidies featuring key experts, including leaders from the Heritage Foundation and other conservative voices” on September 5, 2023. According to EWG, the Summit will also feature experts from other organizations, including farm groups, and will feature a panel of congressional staff who work for leading subsidy reform advocates in Congress. EWG notes that the Future of Farm Subsidies Summit...
July 31, 2023
EPA Announces $1.3 Million in Research Funding to Develop Nanosensors to Detect Pesticides and Mitigate Their Impacts
On July 31, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it provided more than $1.3 million in funding to a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to develop nanosensor technology that can detect, monitor, and degrade commonly used pesticides found in water that can harm human health. According to EPA, using funding from the grant, researchers will develop an integrated, portable, sensor-controlled water treatment technology that itself...
June 29, 2023
EPA Requests Comments for Implementation of PRIA 5 Bilingual Labeling Requirements for Agricultural Pesticides
On June 20, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is seeking input from stakeholders on ways to make bilingual pesticide labeling accessible to farmworkers and to implement a plan to ensure that farmworkers have access to the bilingual pesticide labeling by December 2025, as required by the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5). 88 Fed. Reg. 39845. PRIA 5 requires EPA to begin to seek stakeholder input on ways to make...
June 19, 2023
EPA Announces Release of Guidance for the Evaluation of Products for Claims against Viruses
On July 17, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of draft guidance for the evaluation of products for claims against viruses. This new guidance provides the framework for registrants who seek to make virucidal claims for antimicrobial products. This draft guidance reiterates recommended test methods and regulatory guidance for the addition of virucidal claims to products that meet the criteria for hard surface disinfection claims...
On June 8, 2023, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) issued Notice 2023-07: Pesticide Registration Program Annual Processing Timelines. Under Notice 2023-07, DPR sets forth its annual report summarizing the past five years of registration and post-registration activities. This includes the number of pesticide product registration and amendment submissions received and processed, and average number of days to complete different types of registration submissions are also...
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new effort closing out notification actions for minor pesticide label or product formulation changes in an effort to reduce the backlog, which, EPA states, will allow it to focus its limited resources on addressing higher priority actions. EPA announced it has closed out approximately 2,000 antimicrobial actions submitted to EPA prior to October 1, 2022. EPA states that the notification actions do not impact...
June 1, 2023
B&C Publishes FIFRA Tutor® Courses Covering Transfer of FIFRA Registrations, and Data Compensation and Sharing
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to announce that additional FIFRA Tutor® regulatory training courses are now available at www.FIFRAtutor.com. The one-hour F105 — Due Diligence and Transferring FIFRA Registrations and/or Data module and two-hour F208 — Data Citation, Data Compensation, and Data Sharing module join six existing FIFRA Tutor courses providing expert, essential Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)...
On May 31, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule exempting a class of plant-incorporated protectants (PIP) created using genetic engineering, from registration requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and from the food or feed residue tolerance requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 34756. PIPs are pesticidal substances produced by plants and the genetic material...
On May 23, 2023, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 announced a settlement with Watts Regulator Company for alleged violations under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) related to the sale or distribution of misbranded water filtration devices and importation of pesticides into the United States. Watts, which is headquartered in Massachusetts, imported devices through a port of entry within EPA Region 9. The specific alleged violations...