The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the withdrawal of all remaining parts of the provisional registration review decision for glyphosate. Pesticides containing glyphosate continue to be on the market and used in accordance with the product label; and are not affected by this action.
Glyphosate is undergoing a registration review, a periodic reevaluation of pesticide registrations to ensure that existing pesticide products continue to perform their intended function without unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment. According to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), each pesticide must be reviewed every 15 years.
On February 3, 2020, EPA published the Glyphosate Interim Registration Review Decision (ID). The ID did not identify any risks to human health from exposure to glyphosate, but it did identify potential ecological risks. The identification included interim risk mitigation measures in the form of label changes, including labeling to manage spray drift and herbicide resistance. It concluded that the benefits of glyphosate outweigh the potential ecological risks when glyphosate is used according to labels.
On March 20, 2020, the identification of glyphosate was challenged in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The petitioners challenged EPA's analysis of human health and ecological risk, the weighing of such risks against the benefits of glyphosate, and the interim risk mitigation measures, and alleged that EPA violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
On May 18, 2021, EPA sought partial voluntary remission without vacancy of the ecological portion of the ID so that the Agency could revisit aspects of its analysis in light of EPA's November 2020 Glyphosate Biological Assessment Draft and recent decisions lawsuits for other herbicides, among other reasons.
On June 17, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that EPA's registration review decision under FIFRA was an "action" that triggered ESA obligations. The court also granted EPA's request for voluntary remission, without vacancy, of the green portion of the ID, but imposed a deadline of October 1, 2022 for EPA to issue a new green portion. The EPA asked for a deadline extension; the court denied on August 5, 2022.
EPA has determined that de-identification of glyphosate is appropriate in consideration of the Ninth Circuit's June 17, 2022 decision. The Agency cannot finalize a new green portion in a court-ordered glyphosate registration review decision imposed in October 1, 2022, due to the time needed to resolve the issues for which EPA requested remission of the ecological portion and satisfy the ESA requirements.
EPA began formal ESA consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) for glyphosate in November 2021, and the consultation is ongoing. Additionally, before issuing any decision, EPA must first prepare a proposed decision, post it for a 60-day public comment period, and consider any comments received. The EPA cannot complete these processes by the court-imposed deadline.
The EPA's underlying scientific findings regarding glyphosate, including its finding that glyphosate is probably not carcinogenic to humans, remain the same. According to the court's ruling, the Agency intends to revisit and further explain its assessment of glyphosate's carcinogenic potential and consider whether it should do so for other aspects of its human health analysis.
For the ecological portion, EPA intends to address the issues for which it sought remission, including: considering whether additional or different risk mitigation may be necessary based on the outcome of the ESA consultation for glyphosate preparing an analysis of the effects on glyphosate field in monarch butterfly habitat, consider whether there are other aspects of your analysis of ecological risks and costs to revisit, and consider what risk mitigation measures may be necessary to reduce the potential risk after completing analyzes left pending in identification .
EPA also intends to complete ESA consultation with the Services, make a determination under the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program, and respond to an administrative petition regarding glyphosate before issuing a final registration review decision.
The material in the link below contains more information about the case…
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