Congressman Paul Tonko released the following statement on the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO)’s review of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Conditional Registration Program for pesticides. GAO found that basic information about the number and status of conditional registrations is unclear and inaccurate due to multiple problems:

·        The database used to track conditional registrations does not allow officials to change the status of a pesticide from conditional to unconditional;

·        EPA staff have mischaracterized some pesticide registration actions, classifying them “conditional” when they were not; and

·        EPA does not have a reliable, automated data system to track key information such as whether required studies or additional data have been submitted.

The GAO report: PESTICIDES: EPA Should Take Steps to Improve Its Oversight of Conditional Registrations is available here. Congressman Tonko’s statement is as follows:

“The Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration have the responsibility for ensuring pesticides are evaluated for safety and for defining the conditions for safe use of these chemicals prior to issuing a registration allowing their entry to the market. While I continue to believe the program has met these important goals overall, the GAO’s report contains disturbing findings and indicates the need for significant improvement.  Indeed, the recommended improvements to the Office of Pesticide Program’s information management system are long overdue.

“EPA’s use of the ‘conditional registration’ provisions in the law and the Agency’s record-keeping regarding the status of conditional registrations fall far short of what is needed to ensure that conditionally registered products meet the standards of the law and maintain public confidence in the safety of these products.

“The GAO’s report found the information on the status of conditional registrations issued by the program to be incomplete and unreliable. There is no justification for agencies to rely on paper records and individual staff files and knowledge to organize, store, and track information vital to the proper management of its programs. 

“EPA’s pesticide program has operated for decades, and it has dedicated fees paid by pesticide manufacturers to support registration activities.  The development of a robust, reliable automated data and information system should have occurred years ago.  In fact, on page 21 of the report GAO states:

‘OPP’s problems with data management have been well-documented over the years. GAO studies dating back to 1980, 1986, 1991, and 1992 noted problems with OPP data systems used to track the status of pesticide registrations.’

“Clearly, this is a long-standing problem.  Failure to correct the data management deficiencies in the pesticide program is not only due to Agency inaction.  Congress also has a responsibility to ensure that agencies are acquiring and utilizing the tools needed to implement and enforce the laws we pass.  GAO has done excellent work to identify the shortcomings in this program and has provided constructive recommendations about how to move forward.  It is in the best interests of everyone –pesticide manufacturers, farmers and ranchers, the environmental community and the public – to have a reliable, efficient pesticide registration program.  Now, it is time for the Congress and the Administration to work together to ensure the program is working as intended to provide safe, effective pesticide products.”   

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