A new report commissioned by CropLife America estimates that duplicative regulations on crop protection products could cost taxpayers an additional 474-million dollars over the next 10 years if the existing system of endangered species consultations continue for crop protection products. CLA President and CEO Jay Vroom says the report from Summit Consulting, LLC confirms that the current regulatory system for review creates a broken system for crop protection products that provides no additional benefits to wildlife, farmers or taxpayers. Vroom says CropLife America will work in a collaborative dialogue with EPA, USDA and the Services to find a solution that continues to protect threatened and endangered wildlife while using government resources more efficiently.
CLA notes amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act in 1996 and 2007 established a 15-year cycle of pesticide registration review to ensure that all registered products meet current regulatory requirements. The first cycle must be completed by 2022. All EPA pesticide registration actions are further subject to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act – which requires that EPA consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service if the pesticide use “may affect” endangered species. The Services conduct their own independent risk analysis – despite the fact that EPA already rigorously reviews a product’s potential impacts on the environment in accordance with FIFRA – including possible effects on threatened or endangered species.
According to CropLife America – the report’s findings reaffirm the recommendations of an April 2013 report on assessing risks to endangered and threatened species from pesticides. The National Academy of Sciences report found that federal regulatory agencies should use a common approach to evaluate risks. The NAS Committee on Ecological Risk Assessment under FIFRA and ESA determined that if the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service could build on EPA’s analysis of whether a pesticide is likely to adversely affect a listed species rather than conduct a completely new analysis – the assessment would likely be more effective.
A full copy of the Summit Consulting report is available online at www dot croplifeamerica dot org slash ESA dash Cost dash Analysis (www.croplifeamerica.org/ESA-Cost-Analysis).
Source: NAFB News Service