Potato Grower

WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 37 economically and effective alternatives to PCNB in the control of these pests. In response to the proposed decision, AMVAC argued that "the loss of this product would have economic consequences for potato seed producers where it is utilized to preserve quality and integrity within production of seed potatoes. For commercial potato growers the poorer aesthetics due to presence of common scab decreases the (grade and) value of their crop at market." NPC is currently working to evaluate the Proposed Final Decision and provide comments based on grower input on how they control these pests. Calling on EPA to Deny Petition to Revoke Organophosphate Registrations NPC and 10 state potato organizations recently submitted formal comments to EPA in response to a petition to revoke tolerances and cancel registrations for certain organophosphate uses, which was brought before the agency by the group Earthjustice. In the comments, NPC urged EPA to deny the Earthjustice petition, calling it "a blatant attempt to short-circuit the administrative regulatory review process that Congress and the Agency have established to assess pesticide chemicals." The petition notes that the U.S. potato industry relies on organophosphates such as dimethoate, ethoprop, malathion, phorate and phosmet as a part of an integrated pest management system for the control of a host of damaging pests and prevention of insect-borne pathogens. Supporting Funding to Maintain Pesticide Availability Every 15 years, EPA's congressional mandate requires a review of all 726 registered pesticides, of which 461 are conventional agricultural pesticides. To date, EPA has completed draft risk assessments on 99 percent of the agricultural products, while 90 percent have been through the proposed interim decisions, and 80 percent have a final or interim decision. Recognizing the importance of funding the agency offices which conduct this mandated review, this summer NPC and a coalition of agriculture and other associations sent a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees supporting funding for various agencies in the federal government with responsibility for pesticide registration, review and regulations. Without this funding, the timely processes that are required to ensure that vital pesticides remain available would stall or end completely. Additionally, the ability for new products to be approved would be threatened along with necessary consultations between EPA and "the Services" (National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) on Endangered Species Act regulation. As of Oct. 15, included language in appropriations bill included increases for EPA pesticide programs ($158.7 million in the House, $140.8 million in the Senate) both increased from $129.4 million in FY22. Eliminating certain classes of chemicals would be cheered by environmentalists but come at a cost of sound science. In order to prevent regulators from acting on emotion rather than science, NPC and our industry partners will continue to educate regulators about how policy decisions impact growers' operations and how they responsibly put food on our dinner tables. To learn more about NPC's regula- tory efforts, visit nationalpotatocouncil. org/environment. PG

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