September 12 is the deadline for public comment to the EPA on a Proposed Interim Decision (PID) for regulating the class of herbicides known as sulfonylureas.
The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) is urging farmers and other stakeholders to provide comments on the class of herbicides currently used on millions of acres in the United States.
Using the most conservative models and endpoints to predict exposures of concern, the EPA has determined that risks to non-target plants warrant additional label restrictions when products are applied either by ground or air. The proposed label requirements include using equipment delivering an Extremely Coarse droplet size; prohibiting application when wind speeds at the application site exceed 10 MPH, and mandatory swath displacement and nozzle orientation for aerial application.
According to ARA, “there is general support for spray drift advisory language on labels but placing specific restrictions on equipment types, configurations and their operating parameters may discourage applicators from investing in newer technologies designed to better manage drift. The economic investment that applicators may be required to make in order to continue to apply sulfonylureas appears to have been overlooked.”
ARA notes that the EPA has established a different Public Docket for each of the 22 sulfonylureas currently registered for use in the USA. The complete PID may be found in any of the 22 Dockets and comments applicable to any sulfonylurea may be submitted to any one of the dockets.