Due to the government shutdown and to the late notification to applicants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the annual maintenance fee submission date for pesticide registrants from January 15, 2019, to February 15, 2019. Under Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 4(i)(1)(A), each registrant of a pesticide must pay an annual fee by January 15 of each year for each registration; the fee for 2019 is $ 3,392. The notification of the extension is only available if you call the Pesticide Maintenance Fee information line, however; EPA has provided the information in a voice message. More information on the annual maintenance fees is available on EPA’s website.
On another note, on January 2, 2018, we understood that EPA had confirmed that Imports and Notice of Arrivals (NOA) were continuing to be processed by EPA Regional offices notwithstanding the shutdown. We were mistaken. We now understand that EPA is not completely clear if NOAs are being processed during the shutdown. The EPA Regional offices are working with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), but no additional information is available at this time on the processing of Imports and NOAs.