On March 1, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the 11th Annual Report on EPA’s implementation of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA 3) that is required under Section 33(k) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
This annual report details changes in processes, practices, and policies for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 that ran from October 1, 2013, through September 30, 2014. The report is divided into different sections related to: (1) pesticide registration service fees; (2) maintenance fees; and (3) process improvements in the pesticide program; all of which can be accessed on EPA’s website at the below links. Specifically, the report covers the following topics:
Pesticide Registration Service Fees
* Fees Collected, Waived, Exempted and Expended
* Accomplishments
o Pesticide Worker Protection
o Partnership Grants
o Progress in Meeting Decision Times
Maintenance Fees
* Fees Collected and Expended
* Accomplishments
o Inerts
o Expedited Processing FIFRA Section 3(c)(3)(B)
o Pesticide Reevaluation Programs
Process Improvements in the Pesticide Program
* Registration
* Pesticide Reevaluation Programs
* Information Technology and Labeling
* Science Review/Assessment Improvements
EPA’s report addressing process improvements in the pesticide program discusses several areas where EPA believes its registration programs have improved, either through increased efficiency, consistency, and/or transparency. The areas discussed are:
* EPA’s use of the “Lean” business model to improve business processes;
* Delegation of authority to EPA’s Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division (BPPD) to expedite fast track and notification actions to reduce approval times and the number of actions in backlog status;
* Biopesticide Industry Alliance Registration Workshops to improve quality of application submissions;
* Release of testing guidelines to clarify scenarios under which efficacy testing at the lower certified limit is needed;
* Reduction of registered products for which EPA is taking action under the Antimicrobial Testing Program;
* Continued crop grouping regulations to save resources and reduce the number of required residue studies;
* Establishment of a Pre-decisional Determination Due Date to provide adequate time to reach agreement with the registrant on required label changes prior to EPA approving the label; and
* International work sharing to assist in individual country registration decisions while striving to harmonize regulatory decisions with global partners.
With regard to EPA’s review of electronic labels, EPA states the following:
1. Of approximately 6,300 labels submitted to EPA in FY 2014, almost half included an electronic label. Comparing the statistics from FY 2011 to FY 2014 reveals a steady increase of approximately 10 percent each year in the percentage of labels submitted in electronic format.
2. The use of electronic label review software varies significantly across the three regulatory divisions with the Registration Division reporting the highest use, the Antimicrobials Division reporting moderate use, and BPPD the lowest use.
PRIA 3 is effective from October 1, 2013, through September 30, 2017.