Grace Napolitano: “During the debate on H.R. 897 last week, it was suggested that the recordkeeping requirements of the Federal…”

“During the debate on H.R. 897 last week, it was suggested that the recordkeeping requirements of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA, were equal to or exceeding those required under the Clean Water Act permit. We checked with EPA and found a very different story. First, contrary to suggestions otherwise, all private pesticide applicators are not required to keep any pesticide applications under FIFRA or its implementing regulations. Only commercial application of restricted-use pesticides are required to keep application records under FIFRA recordkeeping requirements. Second, pesticide application records do not have to be filed with the EPA, any State or tribal agency, or person. They are only required to keep and be maintained at a place where pesticides are used, and available for inspection upon request by an authorized regulatory representative. Yet, in contrast to the clean water requirements, the FIFRA application records are not publicly available. While in some States applicators can be required by State or regulation to lead to more robust recordkeeping requirements, it is not accurate to say those are required under FIFRA. So in sum, FIFRA requires far fewer pesticide applicators to keep any records, does not require that these records be filed with the Federal, State, or tribal regulatory agency, and does not make these records publicly available.…”