Last month the EPA issued a final rule revoking all tolerances for chlorpyrifos, which impacts all agricultural uses of chlorpyrifos. The final rule goes into effect October 29, 2021 and tolerances on all commodities will expire on February 28, 2022. After this date, chlorpyrifos can no longer be used and crops detected with chlorpyrifos residues will be considered adulterated.

The EPA’s action was in response to a Ninth Circuit Order that directed EPA to issue a final rule in response to a 2007 petition. Although chlorpyrifos was already undergoing registration review and organizations provided comments on the recent proposed interim decision, EPA took this step claiming a need to adhere to the timeline provided by the court order. The American Farm Bureau Federation along with other grower organizations wrote to EPA to express their concerns with the agency’s action, detail alternative actions the agency could have implemented in response to the court order, and request further clarity for stakeholders regarding the continued use and existence of chlorpyrifos in the supply chain.    

The EPA recently created a webpage titled, Frequent Questions about the Chlorpyrifos 2021 Final Rule that helps answer some of the questions stakeholders may have regarding the impact of EPA’s decision. For example, EPA has responses to questions like, “What is the impact of this rule on existing stocks?” and “How does this rule impact commodities that have both food and non-food products derived from those commodities? Are there any non-crop uses that are impacted by this decision?”

Farm Bureau will continue to monitor EPA’s actions regarding chlorpyrifos and provide our members with updates should any further actions take place