Region 10 Pesticides Program

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EPA’s Region 10 Pesticides Program operates within the context of the overall regional office structure. We are responsible for the implementation of the provisions of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Most FIFRA-mandated activities have been delegated to our partners: the state lead agencies. These agencies have entered into cooperative agreements with EPA to receive federal funding in exchange for activities such as conducting pesticide inspections and training and certifying pesticide applicators. EPA’s Region 10 office maintains an oversight role for these cooperative agreements.

EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs, located in EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., is the office responsible for the process called pesticide registration. Before registering (licensing) a pesticide, EPA must first examine the ingredients, methods of use, and other factors of the pesticide to ensure that it will not have unreasonable adverse effects on humans, the environment, and non-target species. A pesticide cannot be legally used if it has not been registered with EPA.

EPA’s Region 10 Pesticides Program is not responsible for pesticide registration but instead have roles in EPA’s pesticide field program and in pesticide enforcement. Below are descriptions of each component and relevant links. If you need more information on any aspect of our Pesticides Program, please do not hesitate to contact our staff. For general information on pesticides, please call the National Pesticide Information Center at 1-800-858-7378.

Pesticide Field Program

EPA’s field program is made up of the frontline implementation activities carried out by our Regional pesticide experts, as well as the states and tribes. As participants in the pesticide field program, we:

help protect agricultural workers through our Worker Protection Program
provide certification and training for users of some of the more hazardous pesticides to enhance competence and insure safe use
collaborate in protecting the nation’s water supplies from pesticide risk
promote protection of endangered and threatened species through our Endangered Species Protection Program (ESPP)
manage pesticide grants, such as the:
- Strategic Agricultural Initiative (SAI) Grants: SAI grants support innovative efforts that enable growers to reduce their reliance on pesticides reviewed under the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) while maintaining or enhancing their present income
- Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE): a competitive grant program that offers communities an innovative way to address risks from multiple sources of toxic pollution in their environment; and the
- Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP): also known as Regional Initiative Grants, these grants support pollution prevention projects that are important to and complement ongoing efforts in the EPA regional offices.
- educate the public on how to safely control pests around the home, in your lawn or garden, at school, and in agriculture
educate the public on other important pesticide issues such as the West Nile virus and counterfeit pet products through our pesticide factsheets

Pesticide Enforcement

The states have primary authority for most compliance and enforcement actions regarding the improper use of pesticides while EPA’s Regional Offices have authority over non-use or “product” related pesticide issues, such as ensuring proper pesticide registration, labeling, production, distribution, and sales. EPA also:

reviews cases referred to EPA by States and Tribes;
conducts inspections and investigations coordinated with States and Tribes;
conducts compliance monitoring for Section 7 of FIFRA which requires that all establishments that produce pesticides or devices, including foreign companies that export pesticides to the United States, must register with EPA, as well as file annual production reports; and
provides oversight of the importation of pesticide products and devices to our regional port of entries.

Reporting a Pesticide Violation:

If you suspect an application violation, please report to the appropriate pesticide lead agency based on the location of the violation:
Alaska| Idaho | Oregon | Washington | On Federal Property | On Tribal Lands
If you suspect a labeling or production violation, please report to EPA's Office of Compliance and Enforcement.

Enforcement Actions in Your Community:

Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) is a web tool developed and maintained by EPA that allows users to find enforcement and compliance information on facilities in their communities.

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