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New product labels on the horizon
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Superintendents be prepared: new product labels and enforceable bulletins to further protect endangered species are on the way.
The EPA published its intent to finalize the Endangered Species Protection Program (ESPP) for pesticides in November 2005. Since 1988, EPA has been developing a program to help the agency comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which states that federal agencies must ensure their activities will not result in harm to endangered or threatened species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), or to habitat critical to those species’ survival.
Several lawsuits filed in recent years against the EPA in relation to endangered species protection have also pushed the program forward. These lawsuits allege that the EPA has been negligent under the ESA for not having a program to protect listed species.
The ESPP approach relies on pesticide labels referring a pesticide user to geographically specific “Endangered Species Protection Bulletins” that will contain use limitations for the pesticide. A pesticide label will carry a generic label statement, such as “endangered species protection requirements,” referring pesticide users to the bulletin.
Information in the bulletins will be based on pesticide “effects” determinations made by the EPA. Bulletins will only be developed when it is likely that their use without additional restrictions will harm threatened and endangered species or their habitat. In these cases, the label will direct applicators to call 800-447-3813 or consult the EPA’s Web site (www.epa.gov/espp) to obtain the bulletin.
Each bulletin will generally include a map of the county, a description of the species being protected, name the active ingredient(s) for which use limitations apply and describe the use limitation necessary for protection of the species.
Applicators will be able to request these bulletins up to six months prior to the application time to allow them to plan for potential restrictions. Pesticide applicators are responsible for reading the label to see if the endangered species language is present and, if so, to consult and comply with the bulletin. When referenced on a pesticide label, bulletins are also enforceable by law. Pesticide users who fail to follow label and bulletin provisions are in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and subject to enforcement.
Completion of the ESPP is ongoing. EPA officials believe the system will be up and running this winter. An online tutorial will allow pesticide users to see what bulletins will look like and learn about the system itself. The EPA says that when the system launches there may also be enforceable bulletins at that time. Superintendents should be aware of how the program may affect them in the future.
As pesticides undergo registration review, bulletins will be developed as appropriate and placed in the system. Because of this, the EPA urges superintendents to examine their pesticide labels often. The new endangered species statement on the label will trigger enforcement.
In the past, the EPA developed a number of county bulletins based on previous FWS endangered species consultations. Posted on the EPA’s Web site for voluntary use by pesticide applicators, these county bulletins are not enforceable and should not be confused with the new Endangered Species Protection Bulletins. The EPA is currently exploring whether to validate information in these county bulletins for the new bulletins.
The EPA’s Web site includes comprehensive information
and a link to the Federal Register notice announcing the agency’s
intent to finalize ESPP. More information is also available in the Compliance
section of GCSAA Online.
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