Digging Into Dicamba Rules

EPA has extended the registration of three dicamba herbicides, XtendiMax, FeXapan and Engenia, for use over-the-top of soybeans and cotton through the 2020 growing season.

EPA has not yet released the dicamba labels, but the agency published a press release that shed some light on changes in the use of these restricted use pesticides, from applicator certifications to spray cutoffs and new buffer requirements.

We dig into those new rules here, starting with the question of whether states will actually be able to add more restrictions to these dicamba labels in 2019.

STATE 24(c) RESTRICTIONS UNDER SCRUTINY

Weed scientists from Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee and Indiana expressed disappointment in the new federal restrictions on spraying dicamba, and many said additional state restrictions would be necessary to reduce off-target damage in 2019.

In the past, states have used section 24(c) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), to pass more-restrictive state rules on federal pesticide labels. However, this practice is coming under some scrutiny by EPA, because the actual FIFRA language may not support it, state regulators told DTN.

"What we've heard is that the purpose of Section 24(c) is to allow additional uses of a federal pesticide, as opposed to restrict uses," said Leo Reed, AAPCO board director from Indiana. "And states have been using it to restrict federal labels, and EPA is leery of continuing that process."

Without 24(c) as an option for restricting federal pesticides, states would have to turn to their own internal rulemaking process to alter the use of these dicamba herbicides, Reed explained.

Unless a state has an emergency authority to pass a new rule quickly, this process can be extremely time-consuming. In Indiana, for example, passing a rule to restrict dicamba use beyond the federal label would take at least a year. No changes would be in place for the 2019 season, Reed noted.

In an emailed statement, EPA said told DTN that it wants to work with states, using 24(c) if necessary. "If a state wishes to modify the over-the-top labels for dicamba in order to better meet their state's circumstances, EPA will work with them to support their goals," the agency said.