Pesticide Law and Regulation, Enforcement and Registration

Our team has the experience and relationships required to effectively navigate our clients through these unique regulations and challenges. We advise companies in the chemicals, pandemic response, agriculture, mining and mineral processing, ethanol, medical device, drug, consumer product, and general manufacturing sectors in interpreting and complying with a variety of federal laws, including:

• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
• Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA)
• Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)
• Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA)
• Endangered Species Act (ESA)

We also help clients develop corporate compliance and product stewardship programs and conduct environmental audits and due diligence reviews. 

U.S. and California Pesticide Regulation

Our significant experience and relationships with both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Department of Pesticide Regulation allow us to effectively and efficiently help you obtain regulatory approvals and registrations for agricultural, industrial, and consumer products, including products improved through modern biotechnology and nanoscale materials. Our lawyers advise on a wide range of product-related matters, including product registration, advertising and labeling, testing and reporting, products liability disputes, export/import clearances, data use and compensation disputes, right-to-know programs, and trade secret protection. 

European Union Regulation and Litigation 

With an office in Brussels, we are well positioned to advise on all aspects of European Union (EU) chemical and pesticide laws, including EU environmental regulations such as the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). We have close working relationships with personnel of the European Commission and Member State authorities, and we work in collaboration with legal and technical experts in each Member State. 

Products Liability and Toxic Torts 

Our team provides companies manufacturing products with pesticidal or antimicrobial properties with efficient and practical counsel on products liability issues surrounding labeling, warranties, federal preemption, advertising and sales promotion, company correspondence and records, and customer complaints. 

Environmental Enforcement 

Our lawyers are there when you are facing potential or actual enforcement action taken by the U.S. EPA, state agencies such as the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, state attorneys general, and district attorneys. We represent you at all stages of an enforcement matter, including the negotiation of settlement agreements that protect your business objectives and, when necessary, litigating the matter in court. 

Our significant experience in applying FIFRA’s Enforcement Response Policy has drastically reduced the cost and potential disruption of enforcement proceedings for our clients. We regularly assist companies in conducting FIFRA systems and compliance audits (with the benefit of the EPA’s Audit Policy) to spot problems before the inspector shows up. 

California Environmental Law and Policy 

A leader in innovative environmental regulation, California represents a significant portion of the nation’s economy and presents new challenges to businesses operating within the state. Our California-based team advises companies with matters pertaining to Proposition 65, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, California Green Chemistry Initiative, climate change (AB 32), and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 

• Provided compliance counseling for a pest control association.
• Advising on compliance with the EPA’s Emerging Viral Pathogen Guidance for Antimicrobial Pesticides.
• Providing EPA and FDA counseling on the product development and marketing of antimicrobial consumer products, pesticidal devices, medical devices, sanitizers, disinfectants, and antiseptic wipes.
• Advised consumer apparel companies – including manufacturers of face masks – on silver, zinc, and copper antimicrobial technologies for textiles.
• Providing label compliance advice to manufacturers, private labelers, and supplemental distributors of disinfectant wipes.
• Counseled a consumer products company on the development of minimum risk pesticides.
• Counseled a manufacturer on overlapping EPA/FDA regulation of a crop protectant/food contact substance with an antimicrobial pesticide.
• Counseled on the availability of different registration pathways and the registration process. 
• Advised on the impact of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act on the registration process.
• Providing guidance on the EPA’s Safer Choice program. 
• Advised on the requirements of the FIFRA treated articles exemption.
• Counseled on alternative paths to market other than pesticide registration.