By DTN Crops Editor Jason Jenkins.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (DTN) — On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency released its final Herbicide Strategy, the first step in the agency’s plan to meet its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The release comes 10 days ahead of a Aug. 30 deadline mandated by a court settlement, which had been previously extended by three months.
EPA published its final Herbicide Strategy on Tuesday, including a map of county-level pesticide runoff vulnerability it intends to use to determine the mitigation burden for herbicide users. (Map courtesy of EPA)
The strategy outlines how the agency intends to protect threatened and endangered species and their critical habitats from herbicide exposure through spray drift and/or runoff or soil erosion.
According to an agency news release, the final strategy includes more options for mitigation measures compared to the July 2023 draft, while still protecting listed species. The strategy also reduces the level of mitigation needed for applicators who have already implemented measures identified in the strategy to reduce pesticide movement from treated fields into habitats through pesticide spray drift and runoff from a field.
The primary 79-page strategy and its supporting documents were published to the federal docket just after 10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday. The documents can be found here: https://www.regulations.gov/….
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