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The news releases, reports, and other documents listed below have been selected by the Ag Center because they are of direct importance to the environmental compliance efforts of the agricultural community. The items are in chronological order, with the most recent listed first.
September 2012
September 2012 Newsletter, Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center
The September issue includes a webcast on the "Waste to Worth" conference on September 21, 2012. (Note the extended abstract submission deadline). We also announce the winner of our "name that app" contest. The rest of the newsletter includes some great resources on anaerobic digestion and a lot of grant opportunities. More...
September 19, 2012
EPA Awards Grant to Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy to Reduce Releases of Toxic Chemicals in Great Lakes Basin
The U.S. Environmental Agency awarded a $150,000 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant to the Minnesota-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy for a project to reduce releases of toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes basin. This is one of three GLRI grants focused on pollution prevention that EPA is announcing during National Pollution Prevention Week.
Pesticide News Story: EPA Funds Projects to Support Pesticide Risk Reduction in Agriculture
The EPA is announcing six projects to support the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques in agriculture to reduce pesticide risk. IPM is an effective and environmentally-sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of easy-to-implement practices. The goal of these grants, which total $297,372, is to increase use of IPM in agriculture. The grants will expand public-private stewardship, and they will expand collaborative pesticide risk reduction efforts in agriculture. The Regional Agricultural IPM Grants are among the many grants that the agency issues to further the adoption of promising technologies and practices that reduce pesticide risk in various sectors.
September 18, 2012
Public Comment Sought on Iowa Department of Natural Resources' Response to Report on CAFO Permitting and Compliance Program
EPA is seeking public comment on the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' (IDNR) response to EPA's initial findings from its informal investigation of IDNR's permit and compliance program for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). IDNR submitted its response to EPA on Sept. 11, 2012, which outlines a number of actions to improve its animal feeding operations program.
September 14, 2012
EPA Sets Bio-based Diesel Volumes for 2013
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today took action to establish the amount of bio-diesel products required to be included in diesel fuel markets in 2013. Bio-based diesel products are advanced bio-fuels that are derived from sources that include vegetable oils and wastes oils from renewable sources.
September 13, 2012
EPA Announces Settlement of Three Pesticides Enforcement Actions
The Environmental Protection Agency announced three enforcement actions against Missouri pesticides distributors for violations related to sales or distribution of unregistered and misbranded pesticides. All three cases involved the sale and distribution of plant growth regulators, which are regulated as pesticides by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
September 12, 2012
Hypoxia Task Force Launches New Monitoring Efforts to Track Water Quality Improvements
The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient (Hypoxia) Task Force announced today that it is launching two new efforts to monitor reductions in nutrients – nitrogen and phosphorus – throughout the watershed. The joint federal, state and tribal task force, chaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Iowa, has established the Mississippi River Monitoring Collaborative to evaluate progress toward reducing the amount of nutrients entering local waterways and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). a member of the Task Force is also preparing to update its technical standard for water quality monitoring to better measure the amount of nutrients coming from farm fields.
Pesticide News Story: EPA Releases New Resource Directory on Safely Controlling and Preventing Mosquitoes
The EPA has reorganized its resources about controlling mosquitoes and preventing bites on its website. Though the summer is winding down, the EPA advises the public that mosquitoes can still present a serious risk to public health.
The new resource directory includes simple, do-it-yourself prevention methods such as removal of standing sources of water where mosquitoes breed, easy tips to prevent being bitten, how to use insect repellants safely, and information about pesticides commonly used in mosquito control programs.
September 7, 2012
Scotts Miracle-Gro Will Pay $12.5 Million in Criminal Fines and Civil Penalties for Violations of Federal Pesticide Laws
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, a producer of pesticides for commercial and consumer lawn and garden uses, was sentenced today in federal district court in Columbus, Ohio, to pay a $4 million fine and perform community service for eleven criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which governs the manufacture, distribution, and sale of pesticides. Scotts pleaded guilty in February 2012 to illegally applying insecticides to its wild bird food products that are toxic to birds, falsifying pesticide registration documents, distributing pesticides with misleading and unapproved labels, and distributing unregistered pesticides. This is the largest criminal penalty under FIFRA to date.
September 6, 2012
EPA Awards $15 Million to Assist U.S. Small Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded nearly $15 million in funding to provide training and technical assistance to small drinking and wastewater systems – those serving fewer than 10,000 people – and to private well owners. The funding will help provide training and tools to improve small system operations and management practices, promoting sustainability and supporting EPA's mission to protect public health and the environment.
Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates
- Flumioxazin; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of flumioxazin in or on multiple commodities (Sept. 21)
- Clopyralid; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of clopyralid in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. This regulation additionally removes several established individual tolerances, as they will be superseded by inclusion in subgroup tolerances. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) (Sept. 19)
- Bifenthrin; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes a tolerance for residues of bifenthrin in or on tea, dried; grass, forage; and grass, hay (Sept. 14)
- Dinotefuran; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of dinotefuran in or on multiple commodities (Sept. 12)
August 2012
August 2012 Newsletter, Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center
The August issue discusses the "Waste to Worth" conference and webcast, a "name that app" contest, and two new self-study learning lessons on greenhouse gases, and regulations. Participate in our "name that app" contest. Submit your name idea for a manure app that calibrates spreaders, records amount of manure applied to a field, and estimates economic value of the manure by emailing Jill jheemstra@unl.edu. Several great national resources are available and cover air and water, greenhouse gases, and curriculum materials on nutrients. In case you have not heard, EPA has withdrawn their 2011 proposed information-collecting rule and issues a final 2012 rule that addresses some court challenges to the 2008 proposed rule. A virtual dairy farm, farmer videos, and ARS range research round out our "hot topics". As always, there is a great list of events and announcements. More...
August 30, 2012
Pesticide News Story: Azinphos-Methyl Uses Cancellation September 30, 2012; Use of Existing Stocks Allowed through September 2013
After considering comments from growers and other stakeholders, EPA has completed a final risk-benefit analysis for the remaining uses of the organophosphate insecticide azinphos-methyl (AZM). AZM can present health risks to workers and can cause negative ecological impacts, while effective alternatives to this insecticide are available to growers. EPA has decided to maintain the September 30, 2012, effective date for cancellation of the remaining uses of AZM, on apples, blueberries, sweet and tart cherries, parsley, and pears.
August 29, 2012
Pesticide News Story: EPA Order Denies Objections to Agency Decision Not to Revoke Food Tolerances for Dichlorvos; Confirms EPA's Safety Finding for Tolerances
The EPA has denied an objection filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council to a 2008 agency order regarding pesticide tolerances for the insecticide dichlorvos or DDVP. Previously, in June 2006, NRDC filed a petition requesting that the EPA revoke all DDVP tolerances, or maximum residue limits in food. The EPA denied NRDC's petition as well as NRDC's objections to the agency's decision to deny NRDC's petition.
August 23, 2012
Southeast diesel Collaborative Leadership Award Winners Announced
During the recent Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC) 7th Annual Partners Meeting in Atlanta, GA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 Air, Pesticides, and Toxics Management Division Director Beverly Banister, on behalf of the SEDC, presented the SEDC Leadership Awards to the 2011 winners.
August 17, 2012
Pesticide News Story: Agencies Request Comment by October 16 on Proposed Process Improvements for Pesticide Endangered Species Consultations to Enhance Opportunities for Stakeholder Input
In an August 17, 2012, Federal Register notice, EPA announced that it is seeking comments on a proposal jointly developed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("the Services") to enhance opportunities for stakeholder input during pesticide registration reviews and endangered species consultations.
August 16, 2012
EPA Region 7 representatives will meet with livestock producers on Thursday, August 30, at the American Legion Hall, 210 W. Head Street, Arcadia, Iowa.
EPA's inspection program for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), winter feeding areas, aerial overflights, medium-sized CAFOs, nutrient management plans and manure stockpiles will be discussed. EPA staff will also review the selection of CAFOs for inspection, flyover practices and details about CAFO on-the-ground inspections.
August 15, 2012
EPA Awards $58,000 to Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to Revitalize Philadelphia-Area Watershed
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society today announced a $58,000 grant for a new initiative for restoring clean water, improving neighborhoods and supporting green jobs in the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford watershed in Philadelphia, Pa.
August 14, 2012
U.S. EPA recognizes Kuehnle AgroSystems for innovative algae biofuel work
U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld recognized Kuehnle AgroSystems today for the company's innovative work in producing algae for use in biofuels as part of the Pacific Southwest region's environmental awards program.
August 13, 2012
EPA Awards Over $49,000 to the LSU AgCenter to Document Expansion of the Invasive Mexican Rice Borer
The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, known as the LSU AgCenter, $49,956 to develop an electronic reporting and mapping system to document the expansion of the invasive Mexican rice borer. The project will advance the adoption of integrated pest management tactics for the Mexican rice borer in Louisiana by tracking the movement of the pest into new regions and avoid unnecessary use of insecticides in non-infested regions. In addition, the impact on public health and the environment will be measured by tracking the use of insecticides in rice and sugarcane crops. The Mexican rice borer was first discovered in Louisiana in 2008 and is a devastating pest of sugarcane and a serious pest of rice.
EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks Available for Media Interviews at Iowa State Fair, Aug. 16 and 17 in Des Moines, Iowa
EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks will be available for media interviews at the annual Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 16 and 17. Brooks also will meet with senior officials representing the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and agricultural trade associations.
August 3, 2012
Pesticide News Story: Agencies Propose Process Improvements for Pesticide-Endangered Species Consultations to Enhance Opportunities for Stakeholder Input
EPA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("the Services") are seeking comment on a jointly developed proposal to enhance opportunities for stakeholder input during pesticide registration reviews and endangered species consultations. Highlights of the proposal include:
• Emphasis on coordination across these federal agencies.
• Expanded role for USDA and the pesticide user community in providing current pesticide use information to inform and refine EPA's ecological risk assessments.
• "Focus" meetings at the start of registration review for each pesticide active ingredient, to clarify current uses and label directions and consider the potential for early risk reduction.
• Formal ESA consultations later in the registration review process, allowing time to engage stakeholders in the development of more refined ecological risk assessments and more focused consultation packages including mitigation for listed species.
• Outreach to potentially affected pesticide users to discuss the technical and economic feasibility of draft Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RPAs), intended to avoid jeopardy to threatened and/or endangered species.
• Descriptions of the processes by which (1) EPA will summarize and organize comments on RPAs and provide those comments to the Services and (2) the Services will prepare a document for the administrative record for the consultation explaining how comments were considered and, if appropriate, how the final biological opinion was modified to address the comments received.
Southeast Diesel Collaborative Conference to be Held in Atlanta
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will join a consortium of federal, state and local government agencies, non-profit organizations, and industry to hold the Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC) Seventh Annual Partners Meeting in Atlanta on August 7-8, 2012. The SEDC is a public-private partnership composed of stakeholders from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates
- Nitric Acid; Exemption From the Requirement of a Tolerance -- establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of nitric acid (CAS Reg. No. 7697-37-2) when used as an inert ingredient in antimicrobial pesticide formulations applied to food-contact surfaces in public eating places, dairy processing equipment, and food-processing equipment and utensils at a maximum level in the end-use concentration of 1,000 parts per million (ppm) (Aug 31)
- Pesticides; Microbial Pesticide Definitions and Applicability; Clarification and Availability of Test Guideline -- clarifies the distinction between ``isolates'' and ``strains,'' and clarifies the requirements applicable to new isolates, which are considered to be new active ingredients under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (Aug 30)
- Thifensulfuron Methyl; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of thifensulfuron methyl in or on chicory roots and chicory tops (Aug 29)
- Pendimethalin; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of pendimethalin in or on multiple commodities (Aug 29)
- Clothianidin; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of clothianidin in or on rice, grain at 0.01 ppm (Aug 29)
- Pesticide Tolerance Crop Grouping Program III; Revisions to General Tolerance Regulations -- revises the current pesticide tolerance crop grouping regulations, which allow for the establishment of tolerances for multiple related crops based on data from a representative set of crops. This rule expands upon existing stone fruit and tree nut crop groups by establishing new crop subgroups and adding new commodities. This is the third in a series of planned crop group updates expected to be promulgated over the next several years (Aug. 22)
- Flutriafol; Pesticide Tolerances for Emergency Exemptions -- establishes time-limited tolerances for residues of flutriafol in or on cotton, undelinted seed; cotton, meal; cotton, refined oil; and cotton gin byproducts. This action is in response to EPA's granting of an emergency exemption under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizing use of the pesticide on cotton. This regulation establishes a maximum permissible level for residues of flutriafol in or on cotton commodities (Aug. 15)
- S-Metolachlor; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of S-metolachlor in or on beet, garden, leaves, cilantro, leaves and coriander, seed. Interregional Research Project Number 4 requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) (Aug. 15)
- Fludioxonil; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of fludioxonil in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document, associated with pesticide petition (PP) 1E7853 and PP 1E7870. This regulation additionally revises several established tolerances, and removes several established permanent and time-limited tolerances. Interregional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) and Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, requested the tolerances associated with PP 1E7853 and PP 1E7870, respectively, under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) (Aug. 15)
- Paraquat Dichloride; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of paraquat dichloride (hereafter in this document referred to solely as paraquat) in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document (Aug. 9)
- Bacillus thuringiensis eCry3.1Ab Protein in Corn; Exemption From the Requirement of a Tolerance -- establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the plant-incorporated protectant (PIP), Bacillus thuringiensis eCry3.1Ab protein in corn, in or on the food and feed commodities of corn; corn, field; corn, sweet; and corn, pop (Aug. 8)
- Residues of Didecyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride; Exemption From the Requirement of a Tolerance – establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of Didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC) in or on broccoli grown from treated seeds when applied by immersion. Pace Chemicals Ltd. submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance (Aug. 8)
- Flutriafol; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes and amends tolerances for residues of Flutriafol [(()-[alpha]-(2-fluorophenyl)-[alpha]-(4-fluorophenyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-ethanol], including its metabolites and degradates in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. Cheminova A/S, c/o Cheminova, Inc. requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) Paraquat Dichloride; Pesticide Tolerances (Aug. 8)
- Rimsulfuron; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of rimsulfuron in or on chicory roots and tops. Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR-4) requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) – (Aug. 3)
- Fluxapyroxad; Pesticide Tolerances Technical Amendment -- issued a final rule in the Federal Register of May 14, 2012, concerning the establishment of pesticide tolerances for the new fungicide active ingredient fluxapyroxad. Inadvertently, the terminology for the oilseed crop group and for dried plums was incorrect (Aug. 3)
- 2-Methyl-1,3-propanediol; Exemption From the Requirement of a Tolerance -- establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (CAS Reg. No. 2163-42-0) when used as an inert ingredient component of food contact sanitizing solutions applied to all food contact surfaces in public eating places, dairy-processing equipment, and food-processing equipment and utensils (Aug 1)
- Pyrimethanil; Pesticide Tolerances -- establishes tolerances for residues of pyrimethanil in or on multiple commodities (Aug. 1)
- Aldicarb; Proposed Tolerance Actions -- proposing to revoke certain tolerances for the insecticide and nematocide aldicarb because, in follow-up to voluntary requests from a registrant, EPA amended an aldicarb registration to delete specific uses, leaving no aldicarb registrations for those uses (Aug. 1)
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