The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) on Jan. 12 said it has joined more than 350 organizations in drafting a letter to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives opposing the Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA) and expressing support for the pesticide regulatory system in place under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
ARA said PACTPA, or S. 3283, would jeopardize the continued availability of certain pesticides, including neonicotinoids, by “imposing an unscientific and unbalanced process that could unnecessarily remove pest control options from those who need them to safely grow crops, to adopt conservation practices such as conservation tillage and resource-saving crop rotations, to protect homes and infrastructure, to control pathogens and disease vectors, and to maintain green spaces, such as parks and golf courses.”
PACTPA was introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) last November and is cosponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass).
“ARA remains unwavering in our support for decisions grounded in sound science when it comes to the protection of human health and the environment, which is why we cannot support the proposed revisions to FIFRA,” said ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock. “Ensuring a transparent review process for safe and effective crop protection products is essential to ensuring ag retailers and their farmer customers can continue to produce a safe and abundant food supply consumers expect.”
According to the letter, PACTPA would amend several sections of FIFRA, including allowing people to petition EPA to designate an active ingredient or pesticide product as a dangerous pesticide; repealing pesticide preemption in states where it currently exists, and allowing local governments to regulate pesticides instead; immediately suspending in the U.S. any pesticide that had been banned or suspended in the European Union or Canada; and limiting emergency exemptions for the same active ingredient or pesticide in the same location to two years in a 10-year period.
ARA said FIFRA has been amended by Congress several times to strengthen the regulatory standard for safety, most recently through the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) that added specific protections for infants and children. Under the provisions of the current law, ARA said pesticides that are approved for use are subject to continuous review whenever new scientific data becomes available.
ARA said this is the second time these organizations have reached out to Congress to voice concern over similar proposed legislation.