EDSP Program Status Questions and Answers

Questions Specific to August 2008 Delay

1. Why is EPA going to be late in issuing the test orders?

The Agency recently concluded that additional time is needed to complete the necessary steps before it can begin issuing orders. EPA needs to:

• Address matters related to the proposed Tier 1 battery from EPA's independent expert review committee, the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel.
• Respond to a Request for Correction (RfC) on one of the assay validations, filed in July 2008 by the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE) under the Agency's Information Quality Guidelines (IQG).
• Respond to a petition to delay the EDSP orders received in July 2008 from Crop Life America.
• Address complex regulatory, policy, and scientific issues raised during extended comment periods on the draft list of initial pesticide active and inert ingredients to be considered for screening and the draft policies and procedures for initial screening.
• Complete the interagency review packages for related documents