[Pollinator] EPA Cancels Spirotetramat Registrations, Could Issue New Approval for the Insect

[Ladadams at aol.com]

Thanks to Mary Clock-Rust for this.
 
 Pesticides
EPA Cancels Spirotetramat  Registrations,
Could Issue New Approval for the  Insecticide
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a  final order
cancelling the registration of all products  containing the
insecticide spirotetramat following a federal  court decision vacating
the 2008 registration because EPA had  failed to follow proper
notice-and-comment  procedures.
Although the agency is canceling the registration in  accordance with
the December 2009 ruling by the federal court in  New York, EPA also
said it is proceeding on a possible new  registration of spirotetramat
because it appears to be less  risky than alternative pesticides.
EPA said in the April 5 order  that it will allow sale, distribution,
and use of existing  stocks by persons other than spirotetramat's
registrant, Bayer  CropScience. “Use of existing stocks is permitted
provided such  use is consistent in all respects with the
previously-approved  labeling for the product,” it said.
The agency also said it is  proceeding on a possible new registration
of  spirotetramat.
Bayer CropScience developed the insecticide to  combat crop pests such
as aphids, whiteflies, scales, mealybugs,  and gall midges in crops
including vegetables, cotton, and  soybean, according to the company
website. The chemical is the  active ingredient in the Bayer
CropScience products Movento,  Spirotetramat Technical, and Ultor.
Possible New Registration of  Product
EPA said it is treating as new the applications for  spirotetramat
registration that Bayer CropScience filed in 2008.  EPA said it is
also reviewing public comments submitted since  the court vacated the
registration and will “determine whether  the spirotetramat
applications for registration should be  granted [and] what license
conditions and label language would  be appropriate.”
The pesticide “appears to be less risky to the  environment and to
human health than many of the alternative  insecticides used on the
sites for which spirotetramat was  approved,” it said.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern  District of New York in
December upheld claims by the Natural  Resources Defense Council and
the Xerces Society that the agency  failed to publish Federal Register
notices or provide for public  comment before approving the pesticide
(NRDC v. EPA, S.D.N.Y.,  No. 09cv4317, 12/23/09; 247 DEN A-6, 12/30/09
).
In a fact sheet on spirotetramat, EPA said that it “did not publish  a
notice of registration in the Federal Register for any of  these
decisions until August 6, 2009, three months after the  plaintiffs
filed this lawsuit,” according to court  documents.
In a March 22 statement, the NRDC also called  spirotetramat a
“bee-toxic pesticide” that should not be sold  until its effects are
evaluated.
“We remain  hopeful” that the insecticide will ultimately be
registered,  Bayer CropScience spokesman Jack Boyne told BNA April 7.
“It's a  very effective product.”
The company has asked the U.S. Court of  Appeals for the Second
Circuit to review the district court's  order. The circuit court has
yet to schedule a hearing,  according to its docket, but last month it
denied the company's  motion to stay the district court's ruling
pending appeal (NRDC  v. EPA, 2d Cir., No. 10-253, motion denied
3/10/10).
Comments Favor Spirotetramat
EPA said  slightly less than 90 percent of the remarks submitted
during a  Feb. 26-March 29 comment period following the court ruling
favored continued use and distribution of existing stocks of the
insecticide. Those remarks “cited a number of situations in  which
spirotetramat has replaced older, more toxic chemistries,  including
organophosphates and carbamates,” the agency  said.
For example, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture  said “there
is no justification to burden businesses, and  individuals currently
in possession of products thought to be  properly registered,”
according to a March 4 EPA publication,  “Spirotetramat—Comments
received on the sale, distribution,  and/or use of existing stocks.”
The National Potato Council said  that “providing for the continued
use of existing stocks of  spirotetramat is critical to not needlessly
disrupting the on  farm decisionmaking process due to procedural
issues in the  legal system and with no demonstration of evidence
against the  safety of the use of spirotetramat.”
Threat to Honey Bee  Colonies?
However, the National Honeybee Advisory Board said the  pesticide
“represents a threat to insect pollinators and  specifically managed
honey bee colonies.” The board asked EPA to  “require the registrant
(Bayer) to recall all existing  product.”
Aaron Colangelo, a senior attorney for the Natural  Resources Defense
Council, said in the organization's March 22  statement that “our
national bee emergency continues, with  estimates of winter colony
losses topping 30 percent again this  year. We simply cannot afford to
run an unregulated experiment  on the pollinators that are central to
our food system.”
By  Bill Pritchard
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