Ensuring the U.S. EPA's Pesticide Registration Program is Properly Funded and Implemented
The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) provides the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with resources to more fully and expeditiously evaluate pesticides and their risks based upon sound science. Given the consumer and agricultural production uses of pesticides, including the use for fighting insect-borne diseases, it is critical that EPA works efficiently and expeditiously.
PRIA ensures long-term and stable funding for the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) through licensing fees from the registrants (manufacturers of pesticides). This stable funding supports a more efficient pesticides registration process to review new products and existing chemicals, and provides funding for farm worker protection and grant money for farm certification programs.
PRIA was originally enacted in 2003. A unique coalition led by CSPA, CropLife America and the Natural Resources Defense Council worked together to provide input to Congress that helped establish a new provision of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act; the new provision put in place a fee schedule for pesticide registration requests that requires specific time periods for EPA's OPP to make regulatory decisions on pesticide registration and tolerance actions submitted to the EPA.
The original act provided approximately $200 million dollars in fees to increase and stabilize funding for EPA's OPP. The same coalition again worked together to support renewal of the Act which was set to expire in 2008. The renewal in 2008 extended the assessment of those fees through 2012.
CSPA continues to be heavily engaged with EPA's OPP and the coalition to help ensure decision timelines established under PRIA are met. Statutory timelines that help bring new products to market were achieved by the agency 98-percent of the time; this is vital for industry innovation. It has also completed re-registration of existing chemicals by the statutory timelines which was an important element for environmental and labor groups. Implementation reports are available on the Agency's site.
CSPA continues to co-chair the industry fees coalition (see list below) and is helping to coordinate discussions in preparation for the expiration of the assessment of fees in 2012; new legislation will be needed prior to that time. Discussions among the stakeholders have begun regarding timelines and parameters of legislation.
Industry fees coalition members
• Consumer Specialty Products Association (chair)
• CropLife America (chair)
• American Chemistry Council Biocides Panel
• Biotechnology Industry Organization
• Biopesticide Industry Alliance
• Chemical Producers & Distributors Association
• ISSA
• Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment
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