On February 2, 2016, the Executive Board of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Technical Working Group on Pesticides (TWG) released details of its proposed strategic framework the next five years. The environmental regulatory authorities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico comprise the TWG and developed the strategy. They are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), and Mexico’s Secretaría de...
February 15, 2016
EPA Announces Updated Draft Efficacy Protocol for Copper Surface Sanitizer Products
On February 10, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was initiating an external peer review of the updated draft protocol for testing the antimicrobial efficacy of copper-containing surface products. The products in question are hard surface copper-containing surface products such as door handles, light switch panels, and bed rails, which are utilized for their antimicrobial characteristics. EPA states that “the testing described in this draft...
February 10, 2016
Bayer Announces That It Will Not Submit Voluntary Cancellation Requests for Flubendiamide
Significant issues concerning the scope of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to cancel conditional registrations are raised by recent events concerning flubendiamide products sold in the U.S. by BayerCrop Science LP (Bayer) under the trade name Belt. Bayer announced on February 5, 2016, that it will not comply with EPA’s request that Bayer “voluntarily” cancel its registered flubendiamide products. In a January 29, 2016, letter, EPA stated that...
On January 26, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for Discharges from the Application of Pesticides in the Federal Register, which applies to discharges of pesticides to waters of the United States. EPA is requesting comments on the draft permit by March 11, 2016. This draft 2016 pesticide general permit (PGP) is largely an updated version of the 2011 PGP,...
February 3, 2016
OSTP Announces Second and Third Public Engagement Sessions for Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products
On February 1, 2016, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced the dates and locations for the second and third public engagement sessions that will discuss the July 2, 2015, memorandum entitled "Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products." The second public meeting will be held on March 9, 2016, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 6 office at 1445 Ross Avenue in Dallas, Texas. The third public meeting...
On January 28, 2016, in docket EPA–HQ–OPP–2015–0302, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted its revised Antimicrobial Pesticides Use Site Index (USI). In the USI, EPA states that it “has developed [the USI] to provide guidance about the antimicrobial pesticide use sites associated with these antimicrobial pesticide use patterns,” and it “is a guidance document to assist applicants in identifying the data that are necessary to support registration of...
On February 1, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Yu-Ting Guilaran has been selected as the new Director of the Pesticide Re-Evaluation Division (PRD) within the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), effective February 7, 2016. Yu-Ting has been the Biological and Economic Analysis Division (BEAD) Director since 2013, and with the agency for nearly 25 years. She has worked in EPA’s Office of Water, Office of International and Tribal Affairs, and Region 10’s...
On January 22, 2016, Ontario released for consultation a draft Health Action Plan (Plan) to reduce losses of honeybees and other pollinators caused by several “stressors” stated in the Plan to include: (1) reduced habitat and poor nutrition; (2) diseases, pests, and genetics; (3) exposure to pesticides; and (4) extreme weather and climate change. This action plan is part of a broader strategy to protect pollinators, with Ontario’s aim, in part, to reach an 80 percent...
On January 25, 2016, in a significant development in the case involving the continued registration of DowAgrosciences LLC’s (DowAgro) Enlist Duo product, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Case Nos. 14-73353, et al. (consolidated), denied the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) motion for voluntary vacatur of the Enlist Duo registration, but granted EPA’s motion to remand its decision granting that registration. DowAgro’s December 7, 2015, response to the...
On January 6, 2016, the European Union (EU) published its Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/9 regarding the joint submission of data and data sharing under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) in the Official Journal of the European Union. The European Commission (EC) Competent Authorities for REACH and CLP (CARACAL) has been developing this Regulation to clarify further what is meant by determining data sharing in a “fair,...