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July 16, 2015

EPA Gets Closer To Issuing Final Rule On Revisions To Minimum Risk Exemption For Pesticides

Lisa M. Campbell

On June 24, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notification that the EPA Administrator has forwarded to the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a draft regulatory document concerning the draft final rule entitled ”Pesticides; Revisions to Minimum Risk Exemption.” This notice states that the draft final rule will not be available to the public until after it has been signed and made available to EPA. Sections 25(a)(2)(B) and 21(b) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires the EPA Administrator to provide to the Secretary of USDA and the Secretary of HHS a copy of any draft final rule at least 30 days before signing it in final form for publication in the Federal Register; EPA must only provide any draft final rules pertaining to public health pesticides, however, to HHS.

The Spring 2015 Regulatory Agenda stated that EPA is developing the final rule related to revisions it proposed in December 2012: “Specifically, EPA proposed to more clearly describe the active and inert ingredients permitted in products eligible for the exemption from regulation for minimum risk pesticides. These lists would be reorganized by adding specific chemical identifiers that would make it clearer which ingredients are permitted in minimum risk pesticide products. No ingredients would be added or removed from the exemption. The label requirements in the exemption would also be modified to require the use of specific common chemical names in lists of ingredients on minimum risk pesticide product labels, and to require producer contact information on the label. These changes are intended to maintain the availability of minimum risk pesticide products while providing more consistent information for consumers, clearer regulations for producers, and easier identification by states, tribes and EPA as to whether a product is in compliance with the exemption.”  Further information regarding the proposed rule is available in Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) memorandum entitled EPA Proposes Revisions to Minimum Risk Exemption for Pesticides.