EPA recently published the following notice:

“Updated Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Procedures for Notifications and Minor Amendments Now Open for Public Comment

On September 6, 2017, EPA issued a Federal Register Notice announcing proposed updates to Pesticide Registration Notice (PRN) 98-10, “Notifications, Non-notifications and Minor Formulation Amendments.” This notice provides guidance to registrants submitting minor modifications to a registration that do not require extensive EPA review and do not have the potential to cause unreasonable adverse effects to the environment.

Since the issuance of PRN 98-10, there have been various statutory and regulatory changes. For instance, certain actions previously covered by this PRN now fall within the actions scheduled under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA). This notice will update and clarify what kinds of changes registrants can make by 1) notification to EPA, 2) non-notification to EPA and/or 3) submitting a minor formulation amendment to EPA.

EPA believes these changes will save registrants time and help to keep submissions from being rejected, while still protecting public health and the environment.

EPA is requesting comment from affected parties, including general comments regarding the changes, information on projected cost implications, and feedback on the use of these procedures as an avenue for voluntary disclosure of inert ingredients. For instance, in some cases pesticide companies request approval of label changes to disclose the identity of inert ingredients based on third-party vendor requirements. The agency is seeking comment on whether notifications to EPA are the appropriate mechanism for such changes and also whether such disclosures should be required to include all inert ingredients or only a subset of inert ingredients.

Go to www.regulations.gov docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0671 to comment and learn more about this PRN. Comments must be received on or before October 6, 2017.”