Pesticide Registration Branch
Back to Policy and Procedural Changes
POLICY AND PROCEDURAL CHANGES
AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST IN 2011
Note: The California Notices to Registrants mentioned below are found on our website at www.cdpr.ca.gov, click on "A-Z Index" and then "Notices to Registrants."
Furloughs
Furloughs have been lifted by the Governor for many Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) staff. However, all scientific staff under the
California Association of Professional Scientists Union remain under a one-day a month self-directed personal leave day.
Special Local Need (SLN) Online Web Search
In 2011, PRB completed the development of a searchable web-based SLN database intended for use by both external and internal
stakeholders. Search parameters include site/crop, pest, county, chemical, brand name, and pesticide type. The database went online
April 11, 2011. The database can be found on DPR’s website or at http://apps.cdpr.ca.gov/sln/; or from DPR’s Home Page at www.cdpr.ca.gov, click on
"A-Z Index," then under "Section 24c (special local need)," click "Search Section 24(c)
registrations." For more information, please see California Notice to
Registrants 2011-03, PDF (35 kb).
Electronic Certificates of Registration (Pesticide Product Licenses)
On August 22, 2011, DPR began issuing electronic copies of new product licenses through e-mail to the registrants. For legal
purposes, DPR still mails hard copies of all new pesticide product licenses directly to the registrant’s business address.
E-mailing the licenses will cut down the time it takes the registrant to receive their license, thus allowing the registrant to market their
product as soon as possible. For more information, please see California Notice to
Registrants 2011-06, PDF (38 kb).
Electronic Notification of Adverse Effects Submissions
On August 26, 2011, DPR initiated the receipt, tracking, and review of adverse effect disclosure submissions by an automatic e-mail
notification system. DPR will no longer mail a hard copy of letters for this purpose. Submitters must provide an e-mail address in the
cover letter to receive the electronic notification information. For more information, please see
California Notice to Registrants 2011-07, PDF (44 kb).
Ground Water Detection of Hexazinone
On May 9, 2011, DPR held a public hearing to gather evidence from the registrant and the public regarding the continued agricultural use of
hexazinone products. The evidence was used to determine whether: 1) The ingredient found in ground water has not polluted, and does not
threaten to pollute, the ground water of the state, 2) The agricultural use of the pesticide can be modified so that there is a high probability
that the pesticide would not pollute the ground water of the state, 3) Modification of the agricultural use of the pesticide or cancellation of the pesticide will cause severe economic hardship on the state’s agricultural industry, and that no alternative products or practices can
be effectively used so that there is a high probability that pollution of the ground water of the state will not occur. After review of all evidence
presented at the public hearing and by registrants, the subcommittee and the Director determined that agricultural use of hexazinone has
not polluted, and does not threaten to pollute, ground water in the State of California. The Director finds continued monitoring of hexazinone levels in ground water an appropriate approach to protect against pollution of the ground waters of the state and will take immediate
additional action if there is sufficient evidence that hexazinone is approaching the health-protective drinking water level, factoring in an
adequate margin of safety. For more information, please see California Notice to
Registrants 2011-08, PDF (60 kb).
Plant Physiology Evaluation Pilot Project (Update)
On July 26, 2010, PRB initiated a pilot project to have the Pest and Disease Protection evaluation station evaluate both efficacy and
phytotoxicity data submitted to support the amendment or registration of food-use products containing non-new active
ingredients for the following pesticide types: insecticides, fungicides, miticides, nematicides, bactericides, pheromones, insect growth
regulators, and adjuvants. In general, phytotoxicity data submitted to support such products is collected during the conduct of the efficacy
studies, and therefore, the results tend to be reported along with the results of the efficacy tests. This pilot program has reduced the review
time for efficacy and phytotoxicity data to around 60 days or less. Based on these efficiency improvements, PRB has incorporated the
streamlined evaluation process into the formal data evaluation process. For more information, please see
California Notice to Registrants 2011-11, PDF (126 kb).
New Data Handling Procedures
On July 12, 2011, DPR implemented a new procedure for handling scientific data. This procedure affects all scientific data submitted in
support of a registration for a new product, to amend a currently registered pesticide, or to fulfill conditions placed on conditionally
registered products. The policy includes additional data for adverse effects, reevaluation, or risk assessment. The scientific studies are now cataloged, indexed, and housed in the Registration Resource Center until needed for product evaluation. The specific individual reviewing
the data must now check out the data from the Registration Resource Center which allow for more accurate tracking of the physical
location of the data within DPR.
Reevaluation of Certain Active Ingredients
California Food and Agriculture Code (FAC) section 12824 requires DPR to continuously reevaluate currently registered pesticides to
ensure they do not pose unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. The following active ingredients are currently in
reevaluation: antifouling paints, brodifacoum, chloropicrin, chlorpyrifos, cyfluthrin, diazinon, emission potential data (certain liquid agricultural
and commercial structural pesticide products), field soil fumigants, neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, reformulation (certain liquid agricultural and
commercial structural pesticide products), and sulfuryl fluoride.
Late Renewals/Reinstatement of Previously Registered Products
PRB will only accept late renewals and requests for reinstatement of pesticide product registrations until December 31st of the current
renewal year. A request for late renewal or reinstatement of a pesticide product’s registration must be accompanied by a $750
renewal fee, and a $150 late fee for each product.
After one year, a registrant can no longer renew or reinstate a product's registration. The registrant must apply to register a product again by submitting a new application for registration, a $750 application fee, any other necessary documentation and supporting data, if applicable.
U.S. EPA Data Evaluation Reports (DER) submissions to DPR
When applying for product registration or product amendment which requires scientific data, applicants are encouraged to submit applicable U.S. EPA Data Evaluation Report(s) (DERs).
New Active Ingredients Registered in 2011
DPR registered 14 new active ingredients in 2011.
Electronic Label Pilot Project
In July 2009, DPR began a pilot project to participate in an ongoing national Accepted Labels State Tracking and Repository (ALSTAR)
project. The project took place under the auspices of the National Pesticide Information Retrieval System (NPIRS). In March 2010, DPR
expanded the number of companies included in the pilot from four to 12. Under the pilot, DPR accepts label amendments in an electronic
format through ALSTAR, as long as the submission is also submitted as a hard copy. DPR staff utilize document comparison tools to
perform electronic label comparison to enhance productivity and make available accepted electronic labels through NPIRS. Currently there
are over 400 California stamped acceptable labels that reside on NPIRS for the pilot companies. To access information pertaining to
pesticides either currently or previously licensed for distribution and sale in California and most other states go to
NPIRS state public site.
Information Available on DPR Web site www.cdpr.ca.gov
DPR’s Web site contains a great deal of information, with more being added on a regular basis. On December 10, 2011, the PRB
Web page (click on the "Registration" tab at the top of the DPR Web site) was updated with new menus and links. The page
provides access to a listing of products entering the scientific evaluation process, proposed and final registration actions, press releases,
California Notices to Registrants, proposed regulations, databases including the California Product/Label database, and more.
DPR’s library of pesticide data includes more than 81,900 volumes of data containing more than 222,000 studies. The information
is updated weekly. In addition, on June 22, 2011, the PRB published a series of consumer fact sheets designed to help stakeholders
understand various aspects of the pesticide registration process. These guides are available online.
Staff Directory
PRB staff contact information by subject
PRB organizational chart (PDF, 32 kb)