Objections to EPA’s August 30, 2021 Decision to Revoke All Chlorpyrifos Tolerances

By Electronic Mail

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov)
Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) E-Filing System (https://www.epa.gov)

RE: Objections, Request For Stay, Request For Guidance -- EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0523

To Whom It May Concern:

CropLife America (CLA) and RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment) submit these objections to EPA’s August 30, 2021 decision to revoke all chlorpyrifos tolerances under Section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 346a.1 CLA and RISE request a stay of the effective date of this decision to permit time to address the concerns discussed here without harming the interests of our members and other stakeholders. To help provide greater clarity for our members and other interested members of the public, CLA and RISE also request that EPA develop and publish guidance on how it will implement its regulations at 40 CFR 180.32(b) concerning what constitutes “reasonable grounds” for a petition seeking to modify or revoke a tolerance or exemption from tolerance.

CLA is a non-profit trade association representing companies that develop, register, and sell pesticide products in the United States. CLA represents the interests of its member companies by, among other things, monitoring legislation, federal agency regulations and actions, and litigation that impact the crop protection and pest control industries, and participating in such actions when appropriate. CLA’s member companies produce most of the crop protection and pest management products regulated by EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. Section 136, et seq., and Section 408 of the FFDCA.

RISE is a national trade association representing manufacturers, formulators, distributors, and other industry leaders involved with specialty pesticides and fertilizers used by professionals and consumers. RISE promotes the safe and responsible use of pesticides to control pests and invasive species that are detrimental to our health and our environment.

EPA’s decision adversely impacts CLA and RISE members who hold chlorpyrifos registrations by imposing an unnecessarily broad revocation of chlorpyrifos tolerances rather than a more appropriate tailored approach. The revocation also fails to provide sufficient time to adjust practices and lacks the guidance that growers, applicators and others in the supply chain need in order to comply when the tolerance revocations go into effect at the end of February 2022. In addition, EPA is vague on the manner in which its registration review under FIFRA will integrate with the tolerance revocation. CLA and RISE request that EPA stay the effective date of its decision to address these issues and others raised in the following seven sections.

Read the full comments signed by CropLife America and RISE.