All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On February 7, 2024, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator Michal Freedhoff announced the steps EPA is taking to incorporate stakeholder feedback and collaborate with other federal agencies on its requirement to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as part of the registration process, EPA must comply with ESA to ensure pesticides do not harm endangered species or their critical...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 22, 2023, that it has registered biopesticide products containing the new active ingredient Ledprona for three years, “a timeframe that is consistent with EPA’s approach to other novel biopesticide products.” Ledprona is a new type of pesticide that relies on a natural mechanism, RNA interference (RNAi), used by plants and insects to protect against disease. As reported in our October 12, 2023, blog item, Ledprona is...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 29, 2023, that it is proposing to register pesticide products containing the new active ingredient ledprona for three years, a timeframe consistent with EPA’s approach to other novel pesticide products. EPA states that ledprona “is a new type of pesticide that relies on a natural mechanism — called RNA interference (RNAi) — used by plants and insects to protect against disease.” The proposed biopesticide...

On July 31, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it provided more than $1.3 million in funding to a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to develop nanosensor technology that can detect, monitor, and degrade commonly used pesticides found in water that can harm human health. According to EPA, using funding from the grant, researchers will develop an integrated, portable, sensor-controlled water treatment technology that itself...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On August 27, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced via the Federal Register, proposed revisions to its pesticide tolerance crop grouping regulations. These regulations allow the establishment of tolerances for multiple related crops based on data from a representative set of crops. EPA is proposing the revision of one commodity definition and the addition of three new commodity definitions. In addition, EPA’s proposal includes an amendment to...

On June 14, 2019, Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) began a public consultation on Discussion Document DIS2019-01, “Consultation on Inspecting Confidential Test Data for Post-market Reviews in the Reading Room.”  Before a pesticide can be registered for use in Canada, PMRA states that it reviews the available scientific test data to determine whether there are concerns for human health or safety, or the environment, when the product is used according to the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted Draft Guidance for Plant Regulator Label Claim, Including Plant Biostimulants in Docket # EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0258.  EPA issued the notice of availability in the Federal Register on March 27, 2019.  84 Fed. Reg. 11538.  This is an important document addressing tricky jurisdictional issues that have plagued EPA for years.  Comments on the draft guidance are due by May 28, 2019.  For a...

On April 24, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has updated Chapters 3, 7, and 17 of the Pesticide Label Review Manual.  The three updated Label Review Manual chapters are: General Labeling Requirements (Chapter 3) changes include: Precautionary Statements (Chapter 7) changes include: Net Contents/Net Weight (Chapter 17) changes include: Each updated chapter includes a new section identifying the changes in the updated version.  EPA states that it...

The Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed suit on December 16, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its failure to regulate novel nanomaterial pesticides.  CFS states in its press release that in 2008, it filed a legal petition requesting that EPA regulate nanosilver products as pesticides.  EPA opened a public comment period on November 19, 2008, in response to the petition, but according to...

On December 15, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it fined Kinetic Solutions Inc., doing business as Rabbit Air, $82,400 for allegedly selling unregistered and misbranded pesticides and making unproven claims about their effectiveness. According to EPA, Kinetic Solutions Inc. made illegal public health claims for its air purifier branded “Nano Silver Pre Filter” and the filter’s ability to control over 650 types of bacteria, a violation of the Federal...