Member Program Descriptions
    Office of Pesticides Programs

Office of Pesticides Programs

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)

Overall Purpose:
The FIFRA authorizes the EPA to oversee registration, distribution, sale and use of all pesticides used in the U.S. Before registering a new pesticide or new use for a registered pesticide, EPA must first ensure that the pesticide, when used according to label directions, can be used with a reasonable certainty of no harm to human health and without posing unreasonable risks to the environment. FIFRA requires EPA to balance the risks of pesticide exposure against the benefits of pesticide use to society and the economy. FIFRA regulations apply to those who manufacture, formulate, market, distribute, use, or dispose of pesticide products. States are authorized to regulate pesticides under FIFRA and under state pesticide laws. State laws generally mirror FIFRA and are contained in the state's code of laws and regulations.

The Food Quality Protection Act amended FIFRA by setting tougher safety standards for new and old pesticides. The Act required EPA to reassess all its tolerances for pesticide residue in food. It also required a periodic review of every pesticide registration.

Program Role in Protecting Ground Water:
Pesticides can reach the groundwater from applications onto crop fields, seepage of contaminated surface water into aquifers, accidental spills or leaks, improper disposal, and through injection of waste material into wells. While 50 percent of the nation depends on ground water for drinking water, about 95 percent of households in rural areas nationwide use groundwater as the primary source of drinking water. Pesticide contamination of ground water is also a critical issue in terms of the maintenance of aquatic systems and ecosystems and the protection of endangered species.

According to the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) there are 961 active ingredients with active registrations as of January 2003. These ingredients are used in almost 19,000 pesticide products. Approximately one-third of the products have agricultural applications and the rest are registered for non-agricultural uses such as industrial, home, or yard application. In 1999 the agricultural sector accounted for approximately 706 million pounds of conventional pesticides use in the U.S.

Before licensing a pesticide, OPP performs chemical reviews to ensure that proper studies have been performed in order to prevent unreasonable adverse effects to people or the environment, including ground water. In it's risk assessments, OPP uses the Agency's established maximum contaminant limits (MCLs) and water quality standards as end points in its calculations. However, MCLs have not been established for many pesticides. MCLs and other criteria are currently based on individual pesticides (the ‘active' ingredient in parent compounds) and do not account for their use in mixtures or any possible synergistic or cumulative effects such as long-term, low-dose exposure to breakdown products. Many pesticides have not been widely sampled in ground water.

EPA has the authority to suspend or cancel the registration of a pesticide if subsequent information indicates that the use of the product presents unreasonable risks. The agency may restrict the use of certain chemicals to certified applicators if they pose unreasonable risk to ground water resources. Additional measures or label requirements can be added to protect ground water, including changes in or limitations on application rates or methods.

FIFRA regulations (40 CFR Parts 150-189) detail the procedures, requirements and standards to be followed in the registration and labeling of pesticides. Although explicit mention of ground water is limited in the FIFRA regulations, Part 159, which addresses statements of policies and interpretation, in dealing with information and data collected in testing chemicals, states that "information must be submitted if it shows that a pesticide is present above the water reference level in any of the following instances: waters of the United States, ground water, or finished drinking water." The actual contaminant levels are set by regulations within EPA's water program or by the individual state programs. In general, states have primary authority for compliance monitoring and enforcing against use of pesticides in violation of labeling requirements.

OPP developed its pesticide strategy in response to EPA's 1991 national policy, "Protecting the Nation's Ground Water: EPA's Strategy for the 1990s." OPP adopted the goal of protecting the integrity of the nation's ground water resources from unreasonable adverse effects to human health and the environment due to the normal, registered use of pesticides. In so doing, OPP committed to the consideration of the use, value, and vulnerability of the resource, as well as the social and economic values. The strategy emphasizes the need for States and Tribes to prevent water quality degradation rather than to react to contamination after the fact. OPP issued three volumes on Pesticide Management Plans (PMPs) advocating the development of chemical-specific management plans for pesticides that would otherwise be considered for cancellation. To date, 28 states and three tribes have developed plans in order to receive concurrence from EPA regional offices. Over the past three years, approximately $450,000 per year has been granted to tribes primarily to develop PMP-related projects and to address other pesticide-related ground water-quality concerns. The criteria for grants has been broadened to include water resources. In addition, regular workshops are conducted on water quality and pesticide management.

In light of emerging science on the behavior of contaminants, OPP is considering options for a PMP program that addresses pesticide impact on all water resources while preserving maximum flexibility for states and tribes in managing use at the local level. In this approach, states and tribes would apply PMP controls on the basis of an assessment of areas vulnerable to contamination and the most effective preventive measures. OPP plans to prepare a strategy on this approach later this year.

Areas of Flexibility:
The EPA Administrator has the authority to exempt agencies in emergency situations. States have the authority to provide registration for additional uses of federally registered pesticides to meet special local needs. In addition, since states administer their own pesticide programs, they have the flexibility to apply more restrictive requirements on pesticides than EPA.

EPA regions provide Strategic Agricultural Initiative (SAI) grants annually to assist in the implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act through an extensive communication and partnership effort with regional pesticide user, teacher and researcher communities. The SAI program funds state and non-profit organization projects and seeks partnerships with regulatory agencies, industry and the agricultural community. SAI grants fund projects which emphasize the use and study of reduced risk pesticides and alternatives to pesticide use.