EPA strategy to offer flexibility for endangered and threatened species

The Environmental Protection Agency released its final Insecticide Strategy that identifies practical protections for federally endangered and threatened species from the use of insecticides, while providing flexibility for pesticide users and growers.

The strategy, announced April 29, identifies mitigations aimed at protecting more than 900 species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that EPA considers when it registers a new insecticide or re-evaluates an existing one.

The draft Insecticide Strategy was released in July 2024 and was followed by a 60-day public comment period during which more than 26,000 comments were received, with over 230 unique comments. In response to information provided through the public comments, EPA made several changes in the final strategy, supported by scientific analyses, to provide greater flexibility and options for the agricultural community, while ensuring that endangered species are protected. Some of the science-based modifications include: 

• Reducing buffer distances across all application methods; 
• Providing credit for any reduction in the proportion of a treated field for ground applications; 
• Developing a process to qualify conservation programs that will give growers more credit for being part of a conservation program than initially proposed; 
• Developing a process to qualify external parties that would assess a grower’s farms and determine the existing mitigation points that could be achieved by practices a grower already has in place; 
• Updating key data sources and identification of invertebrate species that may occur on agricultural fields; and 
• Adding a Pesticide Use Limitation Area group for generalist species that reside in wetlands to reduce mitigations applied outside of wetland habitats. 

“Today’s action is another example of how protecting our environment and safeguarding our economy can go hand in hand,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “We have found commonsense ways to keep endangered species safe that won’t place unneeded burden on the growers who rely on these tools for their livelihood, and which are necessary to ensure a safe and plentiful food supply. We are committed to ensuring the agriculture community has the tools they need to protect our country, especially our food supply, from pests and diseases.”

“American agriculture demonstrates that production and stewardship go hand in hand,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. “This strategy provides much-needed improvements that will undoubtedly better protect U.S homegrown crops from pests and diseases. We look forward to continued partnership with EPA to ensure our growers continue to have the crop protection tools and flexibility needed to feed, fuel, and clothe our nation and the world.”

National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO Ted McKinney said pragmatic improvements can better be implemented by applicators while also protecting threatened and endangered species and approved of EPA’s willingness to listen to feedback from state agriculture departments across the country.

The announcement was endorsed by major commodity groups including corn, soybean, cotton and rice as well as the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Earlier this year, Zeldin announced his Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative to advance the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment while energizing the American economy. Specifically, this strategy advances Pillar Three: “permitting reform, cooperative federalism and cross-agency partnership.” The final strategy is the culmination of continued communication between EPA, its federal partners including the USDA and FWS, and other stakeholders.

EPA will continue to work with stakeholders to modify and update these documents as additional information becomes available. In addition, EPA anticipates continued engagement with stakeholders, including our federal and state partners, to ensure effective implementation of the strategy.

Read the final Insecticide Strategy. The Insecticide Strategy and accompanying support documents, including a Response to Comments document and an updated Ecological Mitigation Support Document describing mitigations and supporting data that inform implementation of both the herbicide and insecticide strategies, will be available on Regulations.gov in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2024-0299.