Cancellation of Pesticides for Non-Payment of Year 2010 Registration Maintenance Fees

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

Since the amendments of October 1988, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) have required payment of an annual maintenance fee to keep pesticide registrations in effect. The fee due last January 15, 2010, has gone unpaid for 337 registrations. Section 4(i)(5)(G) of FIFRA provides that the EPA Administrator may cancel these registrations by order and without a hearing; orders to cancel all 337 of these registrations have been issued within the past few days.

DATES:

A cancellation is effective on the date the cancellation order is signed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John Jamula, Information Technology and Resources Management Division (7502P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 305-6426; e-mail address: jamula.john@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

This action is directed to the public in general. Although this action may be of particular interest to persons who produce or use pesticides, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any questions regarding the information in this notice, consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Copies of this Document and Other Related Information?

EPA has established a docket for this action under docket identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0535. Publicly available docket materials are available either in the electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov , or, if only available in hard copy, at the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.

II. Background

Section 4(i)(5) of FIFRA, as amended in October 1988 (Public Law 100-532), December 1991 (Public Law 102-237), and again in August 1996 (Public Law 104-170), requires that all pesticide registrants pay an annual registration maintenance fee, due by January 15 of each year, to keep their registrations in effect. This requirement applies to all registrations granted under FIFRA section 3 as well as those granted under FIFRA section 24(c) to meet special local needs. Registrations for which the fee is not paid are subject to cancellation by order and without a hearing.

The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act Amendments of 1991, Public Law 102-237, amended FIFRA to allow the EPA Administrator to reduce or waive maintenance fees for minor agricultural use pesticides when she determines that the fee would be likely to cause significant impact on the availability of the pesticide for the use. The Agency has waived the fee for 193 minor agricultural use registrations at the request of the registrants.

In fiscal year 2010, maintenance fees were collected in one billing cycle. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act (PRIRA) was passed by Congress in October 2007. PRIRA authorized the Agency to collect 22 million dollars in maintenance fees in fiscal year 2010. In late November, 2009, all holders of either FIFRA section 3 registrations or FIFRA section 24(c) registrations were sent lists of their active registrations, along with forms and instructions for responding. They were asked to identify which of their registrations they wished to maintain in effect, and to calculate and remit the appropriate maintenance fees. Most responses were received by the statutory deadline of January 15. A notice of intent to cancel was sent in February, 2010 to companies who did not respond and to companies who responded, but paid for less than all of their registrations. Since mailing the notices of intent to cancel, EPA has maintained a toll-free inquiry number through which the questions of affected registrants have been answered.

Maintenance fees have been paid for about 16,377 FIFRA section 3 registrations, or about 97% of the registrations on file in December, 2009. Fees have been paid for about 2,301 FIFRA section 24(c) registrations, or about 95% of the total on file in December, 2009. Cancellations for non-payment of the maintenance fee affect about 309 FIFRA section 3 registrations and about 28 FIFRA section 24(c) registrations.

The cancellation orders generally permit registrants to continue to sell and distribute existing stocks of the cancelled products until January 15, 2011, one year after the date on which the fee was due. Existing stocks already in the hands of dealers or users, however, can generally be distributed, sold, or used legally until they are exhausted. Existing stocks are defined as those stocks of a registered pesticide product which are currently in the United States and which have been packaged, labeled, and released for shipment prior to the effective date of the cancellation order.

The exceptions to these general rules are cases where more stringent restrictions on sale, distribution, or use of the products have already been imposed, through special reviews or other Agency actions. These general provisions for disposition of stocks should serve in most cases to cushion the impact of these cancellations while the market adjusts.

III. Listing of Registrations Cancelled for Non-Payment

Table 1 of this unit lists all of the FIFRA section 24(c) registrations, and Table 2 of this unit lists all of the FIFRA section 3 registrations which were cancelled for non-payment of the 2010 maintenance fee. These registrations have been cancelled by order and without hearing. Cancellation orders were sent to affected registrants via certified mail in the past several days. The Agency is unlikely to rescind cancellation of any particular registration unless the cancellation resulted from Agency error.

IV. Provisions for Disposition of Existing Stocks

The effective date of cancellation will be the date of the cancellation order. The orders effecting these requested cancellations will generally permit a registrant to sell or distribute existing stocks until January 15, 2011, one year after the date on which the fee was due.

Existing stocks are those stocks of registered pesticide products which are currently in the United States and which have been packaged, labeled, and released for shipment prior to the effective date of the cancellation order. Unless the provisions of an earlier order apply, existing stocks already in the hands of dealers or users can be distributed, sold, or used legally until they are exhausted, provided that such further sale and use comply with the EPA-approved label and labeling of the affected product. Exception to these general rules will be made in specific cases when more stringent restrictions on sale, distribution, or use of the products or their ingredients have already been imposed, as in a special review action, or where the Agency has identified significant potential risk concerns associated with a particular chemical.

V. Docket

Complete lists of registrations cancelled for non-payment of the maintenance fee will also be available for reference during normal business hours in the OPP Regulatory Public Docket, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Product-specific status inquiries may be made by calling toll-free, 1-800-444-7255.

List of Subjects

• Environmental protection
• Administrative practice and procedure
• Pesticides and pests