Register for EPA’s Webinar on Mitigation Menu Website to Protect Nontarget Species from Pesticide Exposure
Released on June 4, 2024
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public webinar on June 18, 2024, from 1-2 PM ET to provide an overview of its mitigation menu website that will describe mitigation options for reducing pesticide exposure to nontarget species from agricultural crop uses.
In November 2022, EPA issued an update to its Endangered Species Act (ESA) Workplan. The update included a plan to develop a menu of mitigation measures that the Agency would propose to include on pesticide product labeling, if needed, to reduce pesticide exposures from runoff and erosion. The Workplan Update, which details steps EPA is taking to better protect non-target species earlier in processes for Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) actions, explained that including the menu on pesticide labeling will improve flexibility for pesticide users to choose mitigations that work best for their situation, while still achieving an appropriate level of mitigation.
After reviewing public comments on the 2022 ESA Workplan and 2023 Draft Herbicide Strategy, EPA has been refining this mitigation menu approach, with revisions described in an update issued about the Herbicide Strategy in April 2024. EPA has proposed to host this mitigation menu on the Agency’s website rather than including it on each pesticide label. By posting the menu online, EPA can add or modify mitigation measures on the menu without updating thousands of individual labels each time, which would take years to complete. This approach ensures that agricultural pesticide users can benefit promptly from those changes to the menu.
The mitigation menu does not impose any requirements or restrictions on pesticide use. Rather, EPA will use this menu to inform mitigation measures for new active ingredient registrations and registration review of conventional pesticides. Mitigations described in the menu will not become effective until EPA adopts labels (following public comment) as part of these FIFRA actions. Future pesticide labels requiring runoff or erosion measures will refer to this website so users can quickly find the most updated list of measures.
The purpose of the webinar is to familiarize users with the website and how to navigate it. The webinar will include:
- A brief background on the goal and development of the mitigation menu,
- A demonstration of how users would follow new label directions using the website,
- An explanation of how to navigate the website,
- Directions on how to access other resources associated with the website, and
- An opportunity for questions and feedback on the proposed function of the menu, the website, and the use of the website for ESA strategies and additional types of mitigation (e.g., spray drift).
The webinar will be open to the public, and all interested stakeholders are invited to attend. The agenda and instructions for joining the webinar will be sent to registered attendees.