Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act is a United States federal law that set up the basic U.S. system of pesticide regulation to protect applicators, consumers, and the environment. It is administered and regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the appropriate environmental agencies of the respective states. FIFRA has undergone several important amendments since its inception. A significant revision in 1972 by the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act and several others have expanded EPA's present authority to oversee the sales and use of pesticides with emphasis on the preservation of human health and protection of the environment by " strengthening the registration process by shifting the burden of proof to the chemical manufacturer, enforcing compliance against banned and unregistered products, and promulgating the regulatory framework missing from the original law".

History

The Federal Insecticide Act of 1910 was the first pesticide legislation enacted. This legislation ensured quality pesticides by protecting farmers and consumers from fraudulent and/or adulterated products by manufacturers and distributors. During World War II there was a marked increase in the pesticide market, as wartime research and development produced many chemicals with newly discovered insecticidal properties. Widespread usage of pesticides garnered much public and political support due to the resulting post war food surplus made possible by higher crop yield from significantly lower pest damage. Synthetic organic insecticide usage increased from 100 million pounds in 1945 to over 300 million pounds by 1950. The Federal Insecticide Act of 1910 set standards for chemical quality and provided consumers protection but did not address the growing issue of potential environmental damage and biological health risks associated with such widespread use of insecticides. Congress passed the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in 1947 to address some of the shortcomings of the Federal Insecticide Act.
Congress enacted major revisions to FIFRA in 1972 with the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act. The 1947 law assigned the United States Department of Agriculture responsibility for regulating pesticides. The 1972 amendment transferred this responsibility to the Environmental Protection Agency and shifted emphasis to protection of the environment and public health. The amendments required the EPA to assess potential risks the pesticides posed to humans, the environment, and wildlife and weigh these against their benefits, taking action against those for which the risks outweighed the benefits. In 1988, Congress amended the pesticide registration provisions requiring re-registration of many pesticides that had been registered before 1984. The act was amended again in 1996 by the Food Quality Protection Act. More recently the act was amended in 2012 by the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2012.
As of May 2007, there are 28 listed restricted pesticides of different formulas and mixtures. Any area these pesticides are used or applied is considered a restricted area.

Major code sections

Table 2. Major U.S. Code Sections of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

7 U.S.C.	Section Title	FIFRA
	Short title and table of contents	Section 1
136	Definitions	Section 2
136a	Registration of pesticides	Section 3
136a-1	Reregistration of registered pesticides	Section 4
136c	Experimental use permits	Section 5
136d	Administration review; suspension	Section 6
136e	Registration of establishments	Section 7
136f	Books and records	Section 8
136g	Inspection of establishments	Section 9
136h	Protection of trade secrets and other information	Section 10
136i	Restricted use pesticides; applicators	Section 11
136j	Unlawful acts	Section 12
136k	Stop sale, use, removal, and seizure	Section 13
136l	Penalties	Section 14
136m	Indemnities	Section 15
136n	Administrative procedure; judicial review	Section 16
136o	Exemption of federal and state agencies	Section 17
136p	Exemption of federal and state agencies	Section 18
136q	Storage, disposal, transportation, and recall	Section 19
136r	Research and monitoring	Section 20
136s	Solicitation of comments; notice of public hearings	Section 21
136t	Delegation and cooperation	Section 22
136u	State cooperation, aid, and training	Section 23
136v	Authority of states	Section 24
136w	Authority of Administrator	Section 25
136w-1	State primary enforcement responsibility	Section 26
136w-2	Failure by the state to assure enforcement of state pesticides use regulations	Section 27
136w-3	Identification of pests; cooperation with Department of Agriculture's program	Section 28
136w-4	Annual report	Section 29
136w-5	Minimum requirements for training of maintenance applicators and service technicians	Section 30
136w-6	Environmental Protection Agency minor use program	Section 31
136w-7	Department of Agriculture minor use program	Section 32
136w-8	Pesticide Registration Service Fees	Section 33
136x	Severability	Section 34
136y	Authorization of Appropriations	Section 35

Note: This table shows only the major code sections. For more detail and to determine when a section was
added, the reader should consult the official printed version of the U.S. Code.

Regulations

In order to be considered for use, pesticides had to undergo 120 tests with regards to safety and its actual effectiveness. Because of these rigorous test, only 1 in 139,000 actually make it through to be used in agriculture. This act directly forbids certain substances and certain uses of those substances, as distinguished from other legislation regulating pesticides, which impose costs on certain practices but do not outlaw any.
FIFRA established a set of pesticide regulations:

FIFRA established registration for all pesticides, which is only done after a period of data collection to determine the effectiveness for its intended use, appropriate dosage, and hazards of the particular material. When registered, a label is created to instruct the final user the proper usage of the material. If instructions are ignored, users are liable for any negative consequences.
Label directions are designed to maximize the effectiveness of the product, while protecting the applicator, consumers, and the environment.
Only a few pesticides are made available to the general public. Most pesticides are considered too hazardous for general use, and are restricted to certified applicators. FIFRA established a system of examination and certification both at the private level and at the commercial level for applicators who wish to purchase and use restricted use pesticides. The distribution of restricted pesticides is also monitored.
The EPA has different review processes for three categories of pesticides: antimicrobials, biopesticides, and conventional pesticides. The three categories have a similar application process, but have different data requirements and review policies. Depending on the category of pesticide, the review process can take several years. After a pesticide is registered with the EPA, there may be state registration requirements to consider.
In addition to the rules and regulations given by the EPA, the states may also offer an additional set of rules and registration requirements for a registered pesticide. They can also request annual usage reports from the pesticide users.

In addition to the FIFRA, the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 amended the authorized fees for certain products, assessed the process of collecting maintenance fees, and decided on a review process for approving the pesticides. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2007 renewed these changes to stay in place until 2012. The purpose of the PRIA is to ensure a smooth implementation of pesticide rules and regulations to its users.

Import and export

Pesticides intended for import into the U.S. require a complete Notice of Arrival through U.S. Customs and Border Protection. If this NOA is not complete the product would not make it through customs. The NOA lists the identity of the product, the amount within the package, the date of arrival, and where it can be inspected. There are also other rules listed below:

It must comply with standards set with the U.S. pesticide law
The pesticide has to be registered with the EPA, except if it's on the exemption list
It cannot be adulterated or violative
There must be proper labeling
The product must have been produced in an EPA registered establishment that files annually

Pesticides intended for export to other parts of the world do not have a registration requirement under certain conditions. The conditions are as follows:

The foreign purchaser has to submit a statement to the EPA stating it knows the product is not registered and can't be sold on U.S. soil.
The pesticide must contain a label that "Not Registered for Use in the United States"
The label requirements must be met and the label must contain the English language and the language of the receiving country.
The pesticide must comply with all FIFRA establishment registration and reporting requirements
It must comply with FIFRA record keeping requirements

Note: An EPA registered establishment is one that produces pesticides, the active ingredients in pesticides, and devices for pesticide use and reports initial and annual production.

On April 22, 2016, the Office of Inspector General issued a memorandum announcing its intent to begin preliminary research to assess the EPA's inspections of, and enforcement against, illegal pesticide imports. The objective of this project is to "determine whether the EPA's Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act import inspection program is effectively deterring, identifying and confiscating illegal pesticide imports, to protect human health and the environment."