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Pesticide Compliance and Enforcement
Environmental laws will not be effective unless facilities comply. Pesticides
are regulated under several laws,
primarily the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) 
which authorizes EPA to oversee the registration, distribution,
sale, and use of pesticides. The Act applies to all types of pesticides,
including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, and antimicrobials.
EPA works to assure compliance with federal environmental laws.
Individuals applying pesticides must do so in a manner not only consistent
with federal laws, but also consistent with state laws and regulations
which differ from state to state. In general, states have primary authority
for compliance monitoring and enforcing against use of pesticides in violation
of the labeling requirements. Additionally, the agency with primary responsibility
for pesticides differs from state to state. Usually it is a state's department
of agriculture, but may be a state's environmental agency or other agency.
EPA provides compliance and
enforcement information through nine broad topic areas: Planning and
Results, Compliance Assistance, Compliance Incentives and Auditing, Compliance
Monitoring, Civil Enforcement, Cleanup Enforcement, Criminal Enforcement,
Environmental Justice, and NEPA.
Pesticide-specific compliance and enforcement information is provided
by EPA on the following topics - Compliance Assistance, Compliance
Monitoring, Enforcement, Compliance Incentives, Compliance Auditing, and
Tips and Complaints.
Compliance Assistance helps regulated
entities to comply with environmental regulations. EPA supplies sector-
and statute-specific tools and programs to help users understand and
meet their environmental obligations. EPA also administers the Compliance
Assistance Centers, sector-specific Centers working to improve environmental
compliance.
Compliance Monitoring assesses
the behavior and performance of the regulated universe. Monitoring enables
EPA to determine compliance with applicable laws, regulations, permit
conditions, orders, and settlement agreements; review and evaluate activities
of the regulated community; and determine whether specific conditions
present imminent and substantial endangerment. EPA’s compliance
monitoring efforts include audits of laboratories that conduct pesticide
registration studies.
Enforcement focuses on violations
of federal environmental law. EPA specifically addresses civil, cleanup,
and criminal enforcement. Civil
enforcement deals with unintentional and non-criminal environmental
violations. Cleanup
enforcement strives to ensure the complete remediation or cleanup
at contaminated sites. Criminal
enforcement works toward the prosecution of intentional or deliberate
acts.
Compliance
Incentives are policies and programs that eliminate, reduce,
or waive penalties under certain conditions for business, industry,
and government facilities which voluntarily discover, promptly disclose,
and expeditiously correct environmental problems. Information is provided
about these incentives, self-disclosure programs, related tools such
as environmental audit protocols, Environmental Management Systems,
Pollution Prevention, other innovation projects and programs, and the
environmental benefits achieved by such programs.
Compliance
Auditing discusses the Auditing Policy, which provides
major incentives for regulated entities that voluntarily discover, promptly
disclose, and expeditiously correct noncompliance, rendering formal
EPA investigation and enforcement action unnecessary.
Tips
and Complaints: We appreciate your assistance and concern
about the protection of the environment. Although most environmental
violations are handled by your state environmental office, tips or complaints
provided through this web site will be reviewed by the Regional EPA
office responsible for your area for further action.
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