NALC’s Rollins to discuss EPA policy shift on carrying out pesticide duties under the Endangered Species Act in Feb. 21 webinar
“This policy is an attempt from EPA to come into compliance with the ESA, while also reducing the amount of pesticide registrations at risk of being overturned by a court." — Brigit Rollins
By Tru Joi Curtis
National Agricultural Law Center
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Feb. 8, 2024
Fast facts:
- Rollins to discuss EPA policy shift during Feb. 21 webinar
- Rollins: EPA is developing a new policy for how to conduct ESA consultations when carrying out FIFRA actions
- Registration is online
(601 words)
Download related photo of Rollins
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it
was adopting what was then a new policy for how it would meet its Endangered Species
Act obligations when carrying out agency actions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act.
![Test](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53234549903_88fc286d96_n.jpg" width="213" height="320" alt="Brigit Rollins, NALC staff attorney)
While many aspects of this policy are still under development, the shift is expected
to result in additional restrictions to pesticide applications.
“EPA claims that this policy will both increase protections for endangered species
and be more efficient than its previous approach,” said Brigit Rollins, staff attorney
for the National Agricultural Law Center. “That being said, some critics say that
EPA’s new policy is over-broad and could harm the agricultural industry by limiting
when and where producers are able to spray.”
The Endangered Species Act works to protect species from extinction by requiring the
federal Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to identify
endangered species, which then receive all the protections offered by the ESA.
To further its goals of protecting species from extinction, the ESA also requires
all federal agencies to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National
Marine Fisheries Service prior to carrying out an agency action. This consultation
is used to determine the effects of the action on endangered species, and to develop
any mitigation measures that may be required.
The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for administering the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA, which is the primary statute regulating
pesticides in the U.S. Under FIFRA, EPA carries out a variety of agency actions, such
as registering new pesticides for use, adding new uses to previously registered pesticides
and reviewing existing pesticide registrations. In the past, EPA has only conducted
ESA consultations for a small portion of its FIFRA actions leading to numerous lawsuits.
To combat these legal issues, EPA is creating a new policy to help it come into ESA
compliance for all FIFRA decisions.
Rollins will discuss the ESA/FIFRA policy, the various issues at play and what this
means for agriculture during NALC’s webinar, “What’s the Harm? Examining EPA’s New
Approach to ESA Compliance When Making FIFRA Decisions.” The webinar will be on Feb.
21 at 11 a.m. Central/noon Eastern.
“This policy is an attempt from EPA to come into compliance with the ESA, while also
reducing the amount of pesticide registrations at risk of being overturned by a court,”
Rollins said. “Under this policy, EPA will conduct ESA consultations across whole
groups of pesticides and create a wide range of mitigation measures intended to reduce
the impacts of pesticide applications to endangered species. I am looking forward
to shedding some light on this policy and helping everyone understand what it all
means.”
The webinar is free of charge and registration is online.
Rollins authored a guide to the Endangered Species Act, the NALC ESA Manual, which was written to help farmers navigate the law in the context of their operations.
The manual is updated regularly and provides a guide to this historic and wide-ranging
piece of legislation.
“We are extremely excited for Brigit to share this beneficial information regarding
the new ESA/FIFRA policy,” NALC Director Harrison Pittman said. “Its impact could
greatly affect agricultural producers, so this webinar is more pertinent than ever.”
For information about the National Agricultural Law Center, visit nationalaglawcenter.org or follow @Nataglaw on X. The National Agricultural Law Center is also on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For updates on agricultural law and policy developments, subscribe free of charge
to The Feed, the NALC’s newsletter highlighting recent legal developments facing agriculture,
which issues twice a month.
About the National Agricultural Law Center
The National Agricultural Law Center serves as the nation’s leading source of agricultural
and food law research and information. The NALC works with producers, state and federal
policymakers, Congressional staffers, attorneys, land grant universities, and many
others to provide objective, nonpartisan agricultural and food law research and information
to the nation’s agricultural community.
The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and
works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural
Library.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen
agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption
of best practices. The Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work
within the nation’s historic land grant education system through the Agricultural
Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas
System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal
access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to
participate or need materials in another format, please contact dviguet@uark.edu as
soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
# # #
Media contact:
Drew Viguet
Communications & Special Projects Coordinator
National Agricultural Law Center
dviguet@uark.edu