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Pesticide registration fees; new legislation(Announcement to SciReg clients and other interested parties - January 26, 2004)On January 23, President Bush signed the Consolidated Appropriations Bill, which includes the "Pesticide Improvement Act of 2003." The Act amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), allowing EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs to collect fees for new product registrations. This legislation represents a significant departure from current EPA practices. Presently, EPA collects 1) annual registration maintenance fees, and 2) fees to establish pesticide tolerances; however, the Agency has not collected fees to support the initial registration of pesticide products. The new legislation is the result of lengthy negotiations between industry, environmental groups, and EPA. In short, it will require pesticide registrants to pay registration fees and increased annual maintenance fees in exchange for EPA being subject to deadlines for its review/approval of product applications. Fees currently charged to set tolerances will be eliminated. Most of the funds collected by EPA under the legislation must go toward registration activities. The pesticide fee categories and EPA review times are outlined in the attached PDF document. The bill becomes law 60 days after receiving the President's signature. In the meantime, EPA has established eight workgroups to address implementation of the law. They will examine: 1. Fund management/infrastructure 2. Front-end screening and tracking 3. Office space and computers 4. Waivers and refunds 5. Publication of the decision timeframes 6. Coordinating registration division resources (RD, BPPD, AD) 7. Worker protection 8. Outreach and communications
If you should have any questions regarding the new legislation and how it
may affect your registration actions, please feel free to contact any SciReg
specialist.
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