The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a February 27th Federal Register notice announcing specific exemption requests pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) to use the pesticide tetflupyrolimet. See 91 Fed. Reg. 9851.
EPA states that the Arkansas and Missouri Departments of Agriculture both filed a specific request to use the pesticide.
The request is to treat up to 546,000 and 100,000 acres of rice in Arkansas and Missouri, respectively. The pesticide would be used to control Barnyardgrass stated to be resistant to multiple herbicides.
EPA notes that the two state agency applicants are proposing the use of an active ingredient which has not been registered by EPA pursuant to FIFRA. The purpose of the Federal Register notice is to announce receipt of the request pursuant to FIFRA Section 18. Further, the notice is stated to not constitute a decision by EPA on the application itself.
Both Arkansas and Missouri agencies as part of their requests are stated to:
… assert that emergency conditions exist due to insufficient means to control Barnyardgrass resistant to rice herbicides, especially Barnyardgrass resistant to multiple herbicides, which leaves rice growers without an effective control option.
The use of such pesticide is stated to be necessary to help avert significant economic losses.
A copy of the Federal Register notice can be found here.
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