Agriculture Division

The Agriculture Division is responsible for overseeing environmental compliance programs for agricultural production, including crops, livestock, forestry, agricultural chemicals, irrigation, lawn care, and pest control. The Ag Division also manages the Good Laboratory Practices Program and sponsors EPA's Ag Center, the first stop for people in the agricultural community who need information on compliance with environmental regulations. The Ag Division is responsible for:  

Guidance/Policy Development

• identifying priority and emerging issues in the ag sector and developing integrated strategies to address these areas

Coordination

• coordinating EPA's agriculture Compliance Assistance (CA) policy and measurement among regions, states, tribes, other agencies and information providers
• forming strong partnerships with states, local governments, tribes to address compliance issues related to the ag community

Communication

• developing communication/marketing strategies and mechanisms to reach critical ag audiences and stakeholders

Compliance Assistance

• developing and providing regulatory compliance assistance information and tools directly to the ag community and to ag information providers
• developing and promoting best management practices to mitigate the environmental impact of ag activities

Program Implementation

• providing lead regulatory and program support on compliance matters related to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
• administering the FIFRA state and tribal compliance cooperative agreement program and the FIFRA Section 7 pesticide producer production reporting program
• implementing and refining the Agency's Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) compliance monitoring program; representing the United States in international GLP regulatory activities
• supplying program support for Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) compliance activities under the Clean Water Act

Compliance Data Quality Assurance

• coordinating the Discharge Monitoring Report - Quality Assurance (DMR-QA) program for monitoring the data quality submitted under the requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits
• assuring the quality and integrity of test data submitted to the Agency under the FIFRA and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in support of pesticide regulation and industrial chemical production, including conducting laboratory inspections and data audits