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September 3, 2015

EPA Announces Electronic Submission for Pesticide Applications

Lisa M. Campbell

On September 1, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the debut of a new electronic system for pesticide applications, the Pesticide Submission Portal.  According to EPA, this debut is the first step in a phased approach that ultimately will allow EPA to accept all pesticide applications electronically — a move that will help modernize the pesticide registration process, increase operational efficiencies, and reduce paper waste.  EPA will continue to accept paper, CD and DVD applications, but encourages applicants to take advantage of what EPA states is the new, more efficient option.

The following types of applications will now be accepted through the Pesticide Submission Portal:

  • New pesticide active ingredients;
  • New pesticide products containing already-registered pesticide active ingredients;
  • Amendments to registered pesticide products;
  • Experimental use permits;
  • Inert ingredient requests;
  • Pre-application;
  • Petitions for food or feed tolerance, and
  • Distributor products.

The Portal is accessed through EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) Network and requires user registration.  For registrants currently submitting CDs or DVDs using the e-Dossier downloadable tool or their own builder tools using EPA’s XML guidance, they may use the Portal and forego the courier costs to send to EPA. 

For electronic submissions, applicants do not need to submit multiple copies of any pieces of their application, as the requirement for multiple copies of data and five copies of draft labeling only applies to paper submissions.  Additional benefits of using the Portal include a status indicator that allows registrants to track the movement of their submissions and automatically generated MRID numbers.

Additional information on the Portal, including a user guide and updated XML guidance, is available on EPA’s Electronic Submission for Pesticide Applications page.

Applicants will need to invest some time and resources up-front to register with CDX and become familiar with the electronic submission requirements.  With that investment, however, EPA’s secure portal should make the submission process more efficient for applicants.  Additionally, as EPA now scans all paper submissions upon receipt, electronic submissions should increase efficiencies and reduce the opportunity for error during EPA’s front-end processing — always a good thing.