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Pesticide News Story: EPA Publishes Final Rule Amending the Pesticide Container and Containment Regulations
For Release: October 29, 2008
EPA has published a notice in the Federal Register to amend the container and containment regulations in 40 CFR parts 156 and 165. The final amendments provide a one-year extension of the labeling compliance date, change the phrase “sold or distributed” to “released for shipment” as associated with all compliance dates, provide for exceptions to the label language requirements for some specific types of containers, allow for waivers of certain label requirements for other refillable and nonrefillable containers on a case-by-case basis, and correct typographical and other minor errors.
After the final rule titled “Pesticide Management and Disposal; Standards for Pesticide Containers and Containment” (Container and Containment Rule) was published in 2006, stakeholders (primarily registrant groups and individual registrants) contacted the Agency with significant concerns about the following topics: the compliance date for the label requirements and whether there was adequate time to make the required changes; problems that the registrants could face handling pesticide products returned at the end of the 2009 use season because returned products would likely no longer be in compliance and, if not, would not be able to be resold or redistributed; and the scope of pesticide products and containers for which some of the labeling statements are required because the regulations required the statement “nonrefillable container” on every container, including containers such as aerosol cans and foil pouches that may be considered inherently nonrefillable.
The Agency generally agreed with the stakeholders’ concerns and, after investigating several options, concluded that an amendment to the container and containment regulations was necessary. The final rule applies to all registrants and is available on the Web site.