PRIA 5 Implementation

The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) was enacted in 2004 and established a new system for registering pesticides including registration service fees to be paid by applicants and specified decision review times, along with funding for farmworker protection activities. PRIA was reauthorized in 2007, 2012, 2019, and most recently on December 29, 2022 (PRIA 5). Registration service fees authorized by PRIA fund approximately one third of EPA’s pesticide program activities.

PRIA 5 revised registration service fees and decision review times, and included a number of new provisions, such as implementation of farmworker protections and health clinician training in recognizing and treating pesticide incidences, requirements for bilingual pesticide labeling, and a requirement for EPA to promulgate guidance on Endangered Species Act review for certain categories of PRIA actions. EPA has been working to meet the requirements in the law within the statutory deadlines. Below are some highlights of EPA’s first year progress related to PRIA 5 deliverables.

PRIA 5 Accomplishments in 2023

• Implementing increased maintenance fees: In January 2023, EPA sent out invoices for pesticide maintenance fees reflecting new PRIA 5 fee levels. Read EPA’s announcement.
• Updating PRIA fee tables: In February 2023, EPA posted the revised PRIA 5 pesticide registration service fees for new PRIA applications. Read EPA’s announcement.
• Receiving feedback on bilingual labeling accessibility: EPA conducted significant outreach to and solicited feedback from a broad array of stakeholders, including farmworkers and farmworker advocacy groups, the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC), pesticide companies, states, and EPA regions. In June 2023, EPA conducted a public webinar and received comments from stakeholders on ways to make bilingual pesticide labeling accessible to farmworkers. For more information see EPA’s bilingual labeling webpage.
• Providing funding to SENSOR program for pesticide incidence surveillance: EPA provided funding through an interagency agreement between EPA and CDC/NIOSH to support the Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risk (SENSOR) program’s monitoring of acute pesticide-related illness and injury, with the goal of increasing the number of participating states and improving reporting by participating states.
• Consulting with state partners on bilingual labeling implementation: EPA met with state lead agency groups such as the State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) and the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO) on numerous occasions to discuss implementation of the PRIA 5 bilingual labeling requirements. For more information see EPA’s bilingual labeling webpage.
• Addressing backlog of non-fee for service actions: EPA began efforts to reduce the backlog of non-PRIA actions and process these actions according to their timeframes. In FY 2023, EPA closed out over 3000 notification actions as part of backlog clean-up, and in November implemented a wholistic strategy for non-PRIA actions for conventional pesticides. This effort has included outreach to industry stakeholders on proposed approaches, as well as outreach to state partners. In total, EPA completed or closed out over 6,000 non-PRIA actions in FY 2023.
• Creating a centralized guidance webpage: In June 2023, EPA posted a centralized webpage for guidance and pesticide-related links. Over 1000 guidance documents relating to pesticide regulation are included on this page. View the webpage.
• Announcing a funding opportunity under the partnership grant set-aside: In June 2023, EPA announced a funding opportunity for the National Pesticide Information Center. Read EPA’s announcement.
• Implementing PRIA 5 process changes for review of applications: EPA implemented a number of changes to its processes for review of fee-related actions, most notably those relating to renegotiation of PRIA due dates, but also regarding activities to be completed prior to the preliminary technical screen due date and communication to applicants when a PRIA decision review date has passed but review of the application is ongoing.
• Developing and issuing ESA guidance for conventional and biopesticides: In May 2023, EPA opened a public comment period on draft guidance to applicants intended to improve the efficiency of EPA’s Endangered Species Act (ESA) analyses for new pesticide active ingredient applications and active ingredients undergoing registration review. EPA considered comments received and issued final guidance in September 2023. Read EPA’s announcement. EPA similarly opened a public comment period on draft guidance for new use applications, considered public comment, and issued final guidance in December 2023.
• Communicating with interested parties: In May and November 2023, EPA held meetings with the PPDC that included sessions on PRIA 5 process improvements, bilingual labeling, and ESA activities.
• Awarding of new Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) cooperative agreement: In September 2023, EPA awarded a new five-year cooperative agreement for the PSEP which includes environmental justice components such as collaboration between PSEPs and minority serving institutions and translation of pesticide safety materials. Read EPA’s announcement.
• Providing farmworker training and education: EPA supported farmworker training and development of educational materials through continuation of existing cooperative agreements, including subawards to non-profit, community-based organizations.
• Requesting stakeholder input for health care provider training cooperative agreement: EPA published the Request for Information to solicit stakeholder input on the program design for the Health Care Provider Training cooperative agreement Notice of Funding Opportunity in September 2023. Read EPA’s announcement.
• Improving electronic registration submission process: In September 2023, EPA successfully migrated all divisions within the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) into the new information technology (IT) system for electronic registration submissions and application tracking.
• Establishing a Vector Expedited Review Voucher (VERV) program: In December 2023, EPA established the VERV program to incentivize registration of new insecticides to control the spread of vector-borne disease. Read EPA’s announcement.
• Developing a process for the sharing of data evaluation records (DERs): EPA has developed a process for sharing DERs associated with PRIA applications with the applicant at the time of the regulatory decision, has shared this process with industry and received feedback, and will fully implement the process across all regulatory divisions in 2024.
• Finalizing a contract for training of EPA employees: EPA is expanding an existing EPA contract with a third party to provide training to EPA employees with regard to regulatory responsibilities and policies relating to PRIA. Finalization is expected in February 2024. EPA is concurrently developing a competitive grant for training which will be directed to institutions of higher education consistent with PRIA 5 requirements.

Upcoming PRIA 5 Activities and Deadlines in Fiscal Year 2024

• Issue process assessment and workforce assessment contracts: EPA is engaging potential candidates regarding an independent assessment of the process for reviewing PRIA pesticide applications as well as an assessment of current methodologies and data or metrics to represent the workforce implementing PRIA 5. EPA expects to finalize contracts in early 2024.
• Request stakeholder input for farmworker training grants: EPA is developing a Request for Information for farmworker training and education grants, which will propose a design which incorporates recommendations made by the PPDC workgroup and aligns with PRIA 5 requirements.
• Enhance electronic registration submission process: In 2024, EPA will continue to enhance internal IT systems for the receipt and review of pesticide applications, as well as initiate outreach to pesticide registrants with regard to development of a customer portal allowing applicants to view EPA progress on review of their applications.
• Tracking the adoption of bilingual labeling: By Dec. 29, 2024, EPA shall develop and implement, and make publicly available, a plan for tracking the adoption of bilingual labeling. For more information see EPA’s bilingual labeling webpage.
• Technology report: Beginning December 29, 2024, EPA must begin reporting on the progress of meeting IT-improvement requirements of PRIA 5.
• Workforce assessment report: By Dec. 29, 2024, a workforce assessment report must be submitted to the EPA by the third party conducting the workforce assessment.