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About the Region 6 Pesticide Program

EPA and the states register or license Pesticides for use in the United States. In addition, anyone planning to import pesticides for use in the U.S. must notify EPA using form 3540-1 (see below).

EPA's Pesticides work crosses many programs within EPA, including the Office of Pesticide Programs and the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS). Region 6's particular areas of emphasis include:

Pesticides Section Mission

The Pesticides Section is dedicated to protecting human health and the environment by:

The primary enforcement responsibility of pesticide misuse under FIFRA has been delegated to the State Lead Agency/Tribe through an enforcement cooperative agreement.

National Links

Questions on Pesticides?

¿Preguntas sobre pesticidas?
  • Centro Nacional de Información sobre Pesticidas (National Pesticide Information Center, NPIC): 1-800-858-7378

Pesticides Section Vision

Our partnerships function at a high level of performance and trust, understanding our partners' success is our success.

Pesticide Safety

Pesticide Safety Bingo for Children:

Keeping children safe from pesticides is a concern for all of us. To help address this concern, EPA has developed a Pesticide Safety Bingo Game. The Game, produced in both English and Spanish versions, is designed to serve as an educational tool for K-6 school age children. The learning objectives of the Game are pest prevention, thereby diminishing the need for pesticides; safe pesticide management and storage; and alternatives to chemical pesticides in order to prevent pesticide poisoning and misuse. An enhanced understanding of the health risks associated with pests and pesticides is an additional educational result provided by the Game. The Bingo Game offers one beginner level game and three advanced level games to take into account the student maturity and cognitive abilities of K-6. An instructors' manual includes lesson plans and explicit instructions for each version of the Game. Teachers will find it easy to utilize the Game as part of their class room activity while teaching core curriculum subjects.

EPA Region 6 has a limited number of copies of the Bingo Game. To obtain a copy please call or email Elizabeth Reyes (214-665-3163 or reyes.elizabeth@epa.gov). Or you can view and download the game and lessons plans from www.epa.gov/region6/6pd/bingo.

Citizen's Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety (PDF) (54 pp, 2425K, About PDF)

Strategic Agricultural Initiative (SAI)

The mission of EPA's Strategic Agricultural Initiative is to "Support and promote environmentally sound agricultural and pest management practices across the U.S. that are economically viable and socially responsible."

The vision is : "For American agricultural producers to use biointensive farming practices that minimize the impact on human health and the environment, resulting in cleaner air and water and safer food."

To achieve our mission, the SAI toolbox ( http://www.aftresearch.org/sai/ ) will offer tools that will help:

  1. Follow agency Grant Management Guidelines
  2. Produce desired outcomes that contribute to EPA's Strategic Plan, help implement the Food Quality Protection Act and help advance the CARET recommendations
  3. Leverage additional resources to maximize outcomes
  4. Choose successful projects
  5. Set appropriate performance measures
  6. Tap into existing monitoring efforts by EPA, other agencies and organizations
  7. Collect useful information from grantees
  8. Improve the project design and management skills of grantees to increase the likelihood of success
  9. Implement effective outreach and communication
  10. Evaluate project and program success for continued improvement

Endangered Species and Pesticide Programs

In the Pesticides Section, the Endangered Species coordinator serves as the central source of information for the five State region.

The State agricultural agencies are responsible for the implementation of a program to protect threatened and endangered species from pesticides while minimizing the impacts of that program on pesticide users. Commitments have been established in each State to coordinate endangered species program activities with appropriate local, state, and Federal agencies, and to develop and review habitat maps.

The WWW provides information on the Endangered Species Act, Endangered Species Management, Endangered and Extinct Species Lists, Endangered Species, and a variety of other menu items.

The Endangered Species Protection Program (ESPP) is a largely voluntary program that relies on cooperation between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), EPA regions, states, and pesticide users. The program strives to provide the best protection for endangered species from the use of pesticides.

Visit the Texas Department of Agriculture's Endangered Species Pesticide Protection ProgramExit EPA

County bulletins have been prepared Arkansas and Oklahoma and several other states, which identify pesticide use limitations for protecting endangered species. A map showing endangered species of the United States is available and on this map, you can move to maps of the individual states. Once on the state maps, you can move to individual county maps. The pesticide use limitations will help you to protect the endangered species in the county where you intend.

Certification of Applicators of Restricted Use Pesticides

As part of the registration process, pesticides may be classified as restricted use. The EPA has established regulations for the certification of applicators who desire to purchase and apply restricted use pesticides (RUPs). Certification means the recognition by a certifying agency that a person is competent and thus authorized to use or supervise the use of RUPs. States are delegated authority for applicator certification and may have additional requirements. Contact the Agriculture Department in your state for information about pesticide applicator certification. Certification is not required for applications of pesticide that are not restricted use.

Worker Protection Standard

The EPA has established regulations for the protection of workers from agricultural pesticides. These regulations cover employees in farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses, and employees who handle (mix, load, apply, etc.) pesticides for use in these locations. The regulations require warnings about applications, use of personal protective equipment, and restrictions on entry to treated areas. They also have provisions for decontamination, emergency assistance, contact with handlers of highly toxic pesticides, and pesticide safety training. Pesticide registrants are required to add appropriate labeling statements referencing these regulations and specifying application restrictions, restricted-entry intervals (REIs), personal protective equipment (PPE), and notification to workers of pesticide applications.

State Management Plans for Pesticides in Ground Water

The objective of this program is to allow the continued use of needed pesticides that would otherwise have to be canceled due to the potential of the pesticides to cause harm to people or the environment. States that participate in this program have the option of preparing a generic State Management Plan to prevent and reduce the possibility of ground water pollution. When EPA publishes the names of pesticides in the Federal Register that will require a State Management Plan, the States will then prepare a specific State Management Plan for each pesticide that is listed. These management plans will specify what actions that will be taken to allow the use of the pesticides, including the tools available and the response actions they will take if pesticides are detected in the ground water. States that choose not to prepare management plans will lose the use of the affected pesticides in their State.

Food Quality Protection Act

The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996 amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). These amendments fundamentally changed the way EPA regulates pesticides. The requirements included a new safety standard-reasonable certainty of no harm-that must be applied to all pesticides used on foods.

EPA, State, and Tribal Contacts in Region 6

EPA Region 6 Contacts
how to reach the Region 6 Pesticides section

State Contacts
how to reach state-operated pesticide programs in Region 6

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