The Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018 (PRIA 4) has officially been signed into law by President Donald Trump. The long-term PRIA reauthorization is reported to strengthen and improve pesticide registration through 2023. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has been working for two years on preserving the benefits and process improvements that were first established in 2004 when PRIA was originally enacted. Signed on March 8, 2 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to implement the law as soon as possible.
“The law will ensure farmers, consumers, and others have an improved process when registering and evaluating the use of pesticides,” said Senate Ag Committee Chair Pat Roberts. “The Senate unanimously approved the bill, which represents the concerns of all stakeholders.”
Some of the key elements of PRIA 4 include the elimination of the appropriations constraint on spending maintenance fees as well as expediting the time frames for pesticide reviews, establishing a more predictable and sensible pesticide evaluation process. The law also provides for financial incentives for the development and submission of reduced-risk pesticides. PRIA 4 will also preserve important protections for pesticide applicators and farmworkers using pesticides. The pesticide industry will be paying upwards of $45 million in pesticide registration and maintenance fees annually through 2023 under PRIA 4. Those fees will be used to supplement federal appropriations as well as fund worker protection training activities.
EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn said in a statement that PRIA 4 is an important reauthorization and update of authority and fee collection provisions. “PRIA 4 is supported by farmers and ranchers, environmental justice and worker protection organizations, and a broad array of manufacturers. EPA looks forward to implementing the new law to further the agency’s mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
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