CropLife America: Pesticide regulations duplicative, calls for more agency coordination
November 04, 2013 | 03:22 PM
CropLife America today called on U.S. government agencies to more closely coordinate their approvals of pesticide products, and released a report that says duplicative regulations could cost taxpayers an additional $474 million over the next 10 years.
Jay Vroom
CropLife President and CEO Jay Vroom told The Hagstrom Report Friday that the National Academy of Sciences had called on the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Administration to use a common standard in evaluating applications under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and the Endangered Species Act.
The agencies are expected to release their plans to address the recommendation by November 15, “but we are expecting to be disappointed,” Vroom said.
The agencies so far have not provided for formal stakeholder input, he said, noting that he is concerned the agencies will address only scientific issues and not other regulatory issues that slow down the process for pesticide companies and make it more expensive.
Without stakeholder input, “By definition they will come up short,” Vroom said in an interview. And without improved coordination, “we run the risk of falling behind as global competitors” as U.S. companies will face the risk of continued litigation and challenges for farmers and other users to get the products they need, he added.
The agencies have the authority to develop a plan to work more closely together without congressional action, Vroom said, but he added he hopes the committees of jurisdiction will watch the process carefully and hold oversight hearings.
He noted that the House Agriculture Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee have held hearings on the issues and said a joint oversight hearing by those committees would be “appropriate.”
Under current policy, each of the three agencies conducts its own assessment, although they engage in consultations. CropLife America noted that amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1996 and 2007 established a 15-year cycle of pesticide registration review to ensure that all registered products meet current regulatory requirements and that the first cycle must be completed by 2022.
All EPA pesticide registration actions are further subject to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which requires that EPA consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) if the pesticide use “may affect” endangered species.
Under the current consultation process, the scheduled review of 744 pesticide registration dockets by fiscal year 2023 would require an additional taxpayer expense of $474 million above current budgetary levels, according to the report, which CropLife America commissioned from Summit Consulting.
The report also found:
Completion of these dockets would require a 13-fold increase in current budget and a 25-fold increase over current staffing levels at NMFS.
Completion of these dockets would require a 17-fold increase over current budget and a 71-fold increase over current staffing levels at FWS.
“We look forward to working in a collaborative dialogue with EPA, USDA and the Services to find a solution that continues to protect threatened and endangered wildlife, while using government resources more efficiently,” Vroom said.
“It is unrealistic to expect that our government will spend hundreds of millions of dollars more to expand regulatory capacity at FWS and NMFS, only to affect regulatory redundancy.”
Analysis of Cost Estimates and Additional Resources Required for Timely FIFRA/ESA Pesticide Registration Review
— FIFRA/ESA Pesticide Registration Review Executive Summary
National Academy of Sciences — Assessing Risks to Endangered and Threatened Species from Pesticides
Jay Vroom
CropLife President and CEO Jay Vroom told The Hagstrom Report Friday that the National Academy of Sciences had called on the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Administration to use a common standard in evaluating applications under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and the Endangered Species Act.
The agencies are expected to release their plans to address the recommendation by November 15, “but we are expecting to be disappointed,” Vroom said.
The agencies so far have not provided for formal stakeholder input, he said, noting that he is concerned the agencies will address only scientific issues and not other regulatory issues that slow down the process for pesticide companies and make it more expensive.
Without stakeholder input, “By definition they will come up short,” Vroom said in an interview. And without improved coordination, “we run the risk of falling behind as global competitors” as U.S. companies will face the risk of continued litigation and challenges for farmers and other users to get the products they need, he added.
The agencies have the authority to develop a plan to work more closely together without congressional action, Vroom said, but he added he hopes the committees of jurisdiction will watch the process carefully and hold oversight hearings.
He noted that the House Agriculture Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee have held hearings on the issues and said a joint oversight hearing by those committees would be “appropriate.”
Under current policy, each of the three agencies conducts its own assessment, although they engage in consultations. CropLife America noted that amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1996 and 2007 established a 15-year cycle of pesticide registration review to ensure that all registered products meet current regulatory requirements and that the first cycle must be completed by 2022.
All EPA pesticide registration actions are further subject to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which requires that EPA consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) if the pesticide use “may affect” endangered species.
Under the current consultation process, the scheduled review of 744 pesticide registration dockets by fiscal year 2023 would require an additional taxpayer expense of $474 million above current budgetary levels, according to the report, which CropLife America commissioned from Summit Consulting.
The report also found:
Completion of these dockets would require a 13-fold increase in current budget and a 25-fold increase over current staffing levels at NMFS.
Completion of these dockets would require a 17-fold increase over current budget and a 71-fold increase over current staffing levels at FWS.
“We look forward to working in a collaborative dialogue with EPA, USDA and the Services to find a solution that continues to protect threatened and endangered wildlife, while using government resources more efficiently,” Vroom said.
“It is unrealistic to expect that our government will spend hundreds of millions of dollars more to expand regulatory capacity at FWS and NMFS, only to affect regulatory redundancy.”
Analysis of Cost Estimates and Additional Resources Required for Timely FIFRA/ESA Pesticide Registration Review
— FIFRA/ESA Pesticide Registration Review Executive Summary
National Academy of Sciences — Assessing Risks to Endangered and Threatened Species from Pesticides
