RL32218
Pesticide Registration and Tolerance Fees: Overview
February 04, 2004
Download Locations
Summary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulating the sale, use, and distribution of pesticides under the authority of two statutes: the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA, 7 U.S.C.136-136y), a licensing statute requiring EPA to review and register the use of pesticide products within the United States; and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 346a), requiring the establishment of maximum limits (tolerances) for pesticide residues on food in interstate commerce. Fees paid by pesticide manufacturers and other registrants supplement appropriations to EPA for the administration of specified requirements of these Acts. This report provides an overview of the authorities for the collection of federal pesticide fees, and legislation passed in the 108th Congress modifying existing fee authority. For a more complete overview of the federal pesticide laws, refer to CRS Report RL31921, Pesticide Law: A Summary of Statutes, and CRS Report RS20043, Pesticide Residue Regulation: Analysis of Food Quality Protection Act Implementation. <P> The Omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 2673) passed in the House at the end of the first session of the 108th Congress on December 8, 2003, the Senate in the second session on January 22, 2004, and signed into law (P.L. 108-199) on January 23, 2004, includes provisions for fees to support the activities of the EPAÕs pesticide program. Based primarily on S. 1664 and H.R. 3188, introduced in September, 2003, the Omnibus billÕs provisions reauthorize and increase current pesticide Òmaintenance feesÓ used primarily for reviewing ÒolderÓ (pre-1984) pesticide registrations (ÒreregistrationÓ), introduce new authority for collection of annual registration service fees, and suspend the current authority to collect fees for establishing tolerances over the next five years. In addition, EPA is required to develop a schedule to accelerate processing of pesticide registration applications and re-registration reviews. <P> Authority for collecting pesticide fees dates back as far as the 1954 amendments to FFDCA (P.L. 518, July 22, 1954), which, as passed, required the collection of fees Òsufficient to provide adequate serviceÓ for establishing maximum residue levels (tolerances) for pesticides on food. Authority to collect fees was expanded with the 1988 FIFRA amendments (P.L. 100-532), primarily to support acceleration of the reregistration process (i.e., re-evaluation of pesticides registered prior to 1984). EPA was authorized to collect a one-time re-registration fee, and through FY1997, annual maintenance fees. The 1996 amendments to FIFRA and FFDCA, or the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA; P.L. 104-170), extended EPAÕs authority to collect the annual maintenance fees through FY2001, including the use of these fees for purposes of re-evaluating ÒoldÓ tolerances (tolerance reassessment). <P> Timely completion of the registration, re-registration, and tolerance assessment requirements, continues to be an issue. Recent EPA proposals to modify the fee structure to significantly increase revenues supporting these activities, and attempts to include increased fee revenues annually in EPA budget proposals from FY1998 through FY2004, have been prohibited by Congress. As an interim solution, authority for maintenance fees, that expired in FY2001, had been extended annually through appropriations legislation. This report will be updated as events warrant.<P>
-
Related Legislation:
- H.R.2673
- S.1664
- H.R.3188
- S.2004
