The EPA has made renewed efforts to comply with the Endangered Species act (ESA) by incorporating risk to organisms listed in ESA in the process of evaluating and registering pesticide active ingredients. Though the EPA has had the Live Bullitens Two map available for years there has not been a consistent effort to evaluate the effects a pesticide may have on a listed species until now.
This inconsistent approach to evaluating pesticides has led to legal action against the EPA for deficient protection of listed species. The EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment is fundamental to the agency and this new policy represents their efforts to meet that mission. The policy will reduce legal cases and help to fortify the legal defense of registered Active Ingredients (A.I.), which are often far less toxic than older pesticide compounds.
ESA assessments will now be included in the registration process. This means that if the EPA finds that a listed species or it’s habitat will be negatively impacted by an A.I. then a formal consultation will take place before the A.I. can be registered. Ecological Risk assessments (https://www.epa.gov/risk/ecological-risk-assessment ) will be completed to determine the potential impact and apply these determinations to the registration process. The pesticide Registrant may then be required to utilize certain mitigation measures as determined by the EPA will prevent the adverse effects. This may also include requirements on the label to minimize the potential for take of a listed species. “Take” is the removal or death of a single individual within a population of a listed species.
Enlist was one of the first examples of the EPA’s new policy that includes ESA assessments to protect listed species. Changes to the label regarding soil group ratings is one of the requirements that the EPA made for protection of human health and the environment. The EPA may require registrants to provide multiple mitigation efforts to allow more flexibility for producers but maintaining protected of listed species and their habitat. https://nda.nebraska.gov/pesticide/dicamba/EnlistDicambaInfo2022.pdf
More information regarding these changes can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species