Action Alert:
EPA is moving forward with efforts to revoke all food use tolerances for chlorpyrifos (Lorsban and generic formulations). Stakeholders may enter comments related to this action on the EPA website until January 17, 2017.
Comments that provide the following information would probably be most helpful:
- Identify yourself as a peanut producer
- Chlorpyrifos is the only insecticide with efficacy against several economically important soil pests (peanut burrower bug, southern corn rootworm, wireworms, and lesser cornstalk borer).
- The number of acres you treat annually with chlorpyrifos (try not to over or under estimate)
- The potential economic impact of the loss of chlorpyrifos to your business
- The formulation of chlorpyrifos you typically use (granular or liquid)
To comment, click on the following link. Once you are on the EPA website click on the green “SUBMIT A FORMAL COMMENT” button.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/17/2016-27552/chlorpyrifos-tolerance-revocations-notice-of-data-availability-and-request-for-comment
EPA’s summary: EPA is announcing and inviting comment on additional information obtained and developed by EPA in conjunction with the proposed tolerance revocation for chlorpyrifos. This information includes the revised human health risk assessment and the drinking water assessment. It also includes EPA’s issue paper and supporting analyses presented to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel’s (SAP) meeting in April 2016 that addressed chlorpyrifos biomonitoring data and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, public comments received during the meeting, the FIFRA SAP’s meeting minutes and the FIFRA SAP report. EPA is specifically soliciting comments on the validity and propriety of the use of all the new information, data, and analyses. EPA is accepting comment on the information and analysis, as well as reopening comment on any other aspect of the proposal or the underlying support documents that were previously available for comment. The EPA continues to seek comment on possible mitigation strategies, namely, use deletions, which might allow the EPA to retain a small subset of existing chlorpyrifos food uses. Commenters need not resubmit comments previously submitted. EPA will consider those comments, as well as comments in response to this notice, in taking a final action.