On July 12, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in a Decision Memorandum that it has registered new uses and restored previously registered uses for sulfoxaflor. EPA has approved the use of...more
Agriculture - WITN: Agriculture community rallies together amid farming crisis - Those in the agriculture community are coming together as the heat continues to devastate Eastern North Carolina farmers and their crops....more
Agriculture - THE LAURINBURG EXCHANGE: North Carolina Senate passes bill expanding hemp industry - Legislation designed to further develop North Carolina’s fast-growing hemp industry, increase agritourism and make...more
Agriculture - CITIZEN TIMES: U.S., Western North Carolina lost farms in latest Census of Agriculture report The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week the results of the 2017 Census of Agriculture, and there's...more
On March 21, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was updating its Residual Time to 25% Bee Mortality (RT25) Data Table with information it has collected since the table was first published in...more
As demand for commercial bees used to pollinate crops (such as almond trees) has grown, so has the demand for facilities to store bees. Entering a lease agreement for the storage of live bees presents some unique issues the...more
On November 19, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) Stakeholder Forum will take place on December 4, 2018, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m....more
In Canada, pesticides are regulated by Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (the "PMRA") on behalf of the Minister of Health and under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act (the "PCPA"). Health Canada...more
TSCA/FIFRA/TRI - EPA Issues Two Direct Final Rules Promulgating SNURs For 29 Chemicals: On August 27, 2018, EPA issued two direct final rules promulgating significant new use rules (SNUR) under TSCA. The first direct final...more
I. UNITED STATES: CHEMICAL FORECAST - Predictions and Outlook for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention 2018 - What a difference a year makes. To some extent, the...more
On December 15, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its release of preliminary ecological and human health risk assessments for three neonicotinoid insecticides: clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and...more
On September 19, 2017, California’s Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District reversed a trial court decision denying a petition by the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) challenging the approval by the...more
In a published opinion filed September 19, 2017, the First District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s denial of a writ petition challenging defendant California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (“Department”)...more
TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI - EPA Promulgates Final TSCA Reporting And Recordkeeping Rule For Nanoscale Materials: After over a decade of effort, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued on January 12, 2017, a...more
On January 12, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Policy to Mitigate the Acute Risk to Bees from Pesticide Products (Mitigation Policy) which describes methods for addressing acute risks to bees...more
Predictions and Outlook for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) 2017 - 2016 was full of surprises, two of which will drive much of the agenda for OCSPP during 2017. First, Congress...more
On August 29, 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published a study on the result of land-use changes on North and South Dakota commercial honey bee colonies in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences....more
On January 22, 2016, Ontario released for consultation a draft Health Action Plan (Plan) to reduce losses of honeybees and other pollinators caused by several “stressors” stated in the Plan to include: (1) reduced habitat and...more
On January 6, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced the release of a preliminary pollinator risk assessment for the...more
Even if Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) legislation is not enacted, 2016 will be a momentous year. As the curtain closes on eight years of the Obama Administration, there are a number of items expected to be among the...more
On November 3-5, 2015, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Technical Working Group (TWG) on Pesticides, established in 1997 to streamline certain pesticide shipments between Canada (CN), Mexico (MX), and the...more
EPA Denies Petition To Ban Triclosan: On May 13, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied a petition submitted in January 2010 by Food & Water Watch and Beyond Pesticides seeking to ban triclosan, an...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Proposal to Mitigate Exposure to Bees from Acutely Toxic Pesticide Products published in the Federal Register on May 29, 2015, seeks comment on a proposal to adopt mandatory...more
After 10 years of budget deficits, the Minnesota Legislature convened in January to set the state’s biennial budget with a projected $1.9 billion surplus. This surplus spurred hope of an orderly session and predictions of tax...more