Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee Webinar: February 25, 2015
Feb 10th
EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs will hold a webinar for the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) on Wednesday, February 25, 2015, from 1:00-2:30 EST. During the webinar, EPA will provide brief updates on a few key issues for 2015, including
- Chlorpyrifos: Revised Human Health Risk Assessment
- Pollinator Protection Activities
- Enlist & Managing Herbicide Resistance and
- Corn Rootworm: EPA’s Proposal for Addressing Resistance and Public Participation
The public is welcome to listen to the updates. Click here for the PPDC website.
EPA’s new website provides “Pesticide Contacts and Organizational Information”
Feb 5th
This useful new site provides information that includes and Organization chart/current headquarters leadership and Regional pesticide contacts. It also includes HQ Contacts by Division and Topic; a full EPA staff directory; a way to contact EPA staff by last name; and a way to contact EPA to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Click here for EPA’s pesticides contact site.
EPA Requests Comment on Proposed Draft Toxicity Testing Plan
Jan 21st
EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs has publicly released its proposed draft “Process for Establishing & Implementing Alternative Approaches To Traditional In Vivo Acute Toxicity Studies.” EPA will take comment on this proposed draft plan through March 10, 2015.
If and when the plan or some revised version of it becomes final, EPA intends to use it to evaluate and adopt new types of cellular, computational and other non-animal toxicity tests in its pesticide registration reviews. This could help EPA reduce the agency’s reliance on animal studies.
Click here for EPA’s draft proposed plan.
EPA Opposes ENGOs’ Petition for Writ of Mandamus in Chlorpyrifos Case
Jan 12th
EPA has responded in opposition to the ENGOs’ petition for mandamus in the pesticide case Pesticide Action Network North America and NRDC v. EPA (9th circuit, No. 14-72794). EPA’s brief summarizes the case and the Agency’s response as follows:
EPA Sends Status Report to Congress on Endangered Species Act Implementation in Pesticide Regulation
Dec 16th
According to an EPA website,
“The EPA and its federal partners, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), have written a report to Congress on the status of Endangered Species Act implementation in pesticide regulation. The EPA and its federal partners are committed to refining their approach to pesticide consultations to protect endangered and threatened species.
This report was required by the 2014 Farm Bill and summarizes actions carried out by the agencies since receiving the April 2013 National Academy of Sciences’ report, entitled ‘Assessing Risks to Endangered and Threatened Species from Pesticides.’
EPA Workshop on Inert Ingredient PRIA Applications
Dec 3rd
EPA has published the following notification:
On December 16, 2014, EPA will host a half-day workshop on the application process for the use of inert ingredients in pesticide products. The workshop will take place in Arlington, Virginia.
The goal of the workshop is to clarify the necessary elements of an application for approval to use an inert ingredient in a pesticide product. Complete application packages save applicants time and money, and reduce the number of application rejections.
The workshop will cover:
- Selection of a PRIA category,
- Elements of an application,
- EPA’s evaluation process, and
EPA’s Pesticide Advisory Committee Site
Nov 14th
EPA has put up a web site about the Agency’s Pesticide Advisory Committees. This EPA site explains that
“Advisory committees provide advice to EPA on pesticide regulatory, technical, and policy issues. Meetings are organized under the Federal Advisory Committee Act:
Meetings are open to the public.
Anyone can submit comments before or after meetings.
Anyone can make statements during meetings.”
EPA’s current pesticide advisory committees are
“Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) meets regularly with EPA to discuss pesticide regulatory, policy, and program implementation issues.
EPA Reorganizes Its Pesticide Registration Division
Nov 5th
EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs has undergone a staff reorganization effective October 18, 2014. According to EPA:
“The reorganization created two additional risk management branches and will allow for a greater number of staff to work more directly on registration actions. The Registration Division is responsible for conventional chemical risk management for new chemical registrations, new product registrations, registration amendments and new use reviews, tolerances, experimental use permits, and emergency exemptions for conventional chemical pesticides.
SAP Meets on EDSP Issues
Nov 5th
EPA sent the following email to its EDSP ListServe:
“The EPA FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel will meet on December 2-5, 2014 to consider and review scientific issues related to “Integrated Bioactivity and Exposure Ranking: A Computational Approach for the Prioritization and Screening of Chemicals in the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program.” The meeting will be held at the Environmental Protection Agency, Conference Center, Lobby Level, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.
EPA’s New Website on Pesticide Drift
Oct 22nd
EPA has a published a new website on pesticide drift. This site includes an “Introduction to Pesticide Drift”; explains “what EPA is doing to reduce drift”; and explains how to “report pesticide drift problems.”
EPA states on this site that
“Pesticide spray drift is the movement of pesticide dust or droplets through the air at the time of application or soon after, to any site other than the area intended. Pesticide droplets are produced by spray nozzles used in application equipment for spraying pesticides on crops, forests, turf and home gardens. Some other pesticides are formulated as very fine dry particles (commonly referred to as dust formulations).”