Rule2025-08220

Rescission of Recordkeeping on Restricted Use Pesticides by Certified Applications

Primary source

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Published
May 12, 2025
Effective
July 11, 2025

Issuing agencies

Agriculture DepartmentAgricultural Marketing Service

Abstract

This action rescinds regulations pertaining to Recordkeeping on Restricted Use Pesticides by Certified Applicators; Surveys and Reports.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 90 (Monday, May 12, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 90 (Monday, May 12, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 20083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-08220]



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Rules and Regulations
                                                Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 90 / Monday, May 12, 2025 / Rules and 
Regulations

[[Page 20083]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 110

[Docket No. AMS-AMS-25-0019]
RIN 0581-AE38


Rescission of Recordkeeping on Restricted Use Pesticides by 
Certified Applications

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This action rescinds regulations pertaining to Recordkeeping 
on Restricted Use Pesticides by Certified Applicators; Surveys and 
Reports.

DATES: The final rule is effective July 11, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Morris, Associate Administrator, 
AMS, USDA, Room 2055-S, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 
20250; Telephone (202) 690-4024, or Email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7d180f14135310120f0f140e3d080e191c531a120b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a1f081314541715080813093a0f091e1b541d150c">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA) regulations governing Recordkeeping on Restricted 
Use Pesticides by Certified Applicators; Surveys and Reports are 
contained in part 110 of title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR). These regulations set forth the requirements for recordkeeping 
on restricted use pesticides by all certified private and commercial 
applicators. These regulations require the Secretary of Agriculture, in 
consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA), to ensure certified applicators of restricted use 
pesticides (described under 7 U.S.C. 136a(d)(1)(C)) maintain records 
comparable to records maintained by commercial applicators of 
pesticides in each State. Upon reviewing these regulations, USDA has 
determined that they should be rescinded due to their obsolescence.
    The record-keeping program was defunded and closed on September 30, 
2012, when it was determined that the Federal funding was insufficient 
to cover the costs of all State cooperators. Twenty-three State 
programs have since come to operate their own programs and (1) have 
implemented procedures to inspect certified applicators when complaints 
are filed; or (2) they combine pesticide recordkeeping inspections with 
other State and Federal inspections during one visit to a certified 
private pesticide applicator. These State programs produce and 
distribute their own educational outreach materials and information.
    Other State programs that operated under the Federal regulations 
and were no longer funded discontinued surveillance or random 
inspections of certified private pesticide applicators and no longer 
provided educational outreach and materials. Many of these States have 
continued to conduct pesticide recordkeeping inspections when a 
complaint is registered against a certified applicator in order to 
support State compliance actions.
    Furthermore, upon closure of the program, the EPA incorporated 
training on many of the recordkeeping and reporting requirements into 
Worker Protection Standards, which apply to many certified private 
pesticide applicator operations.
    USDA has determined that each of these reasons, independently and 
alone, justifies rescission of the Recordkeeping on Restricted Use 
Pesticides by Certified Applicators; Surveys and Reports regulations. 
Regardless of the benefits of the regulations, USDA must not maintain 
regulations that are obsolete. USDA has determined that there is no 
reliance interest in an obsolete regulation. Moreover, regardless of 
the lawfulness, USDA has no interest in maintaining a rule that is 
obsolete.
    To the extent there is any uncertainty about the costs and benefits 
of the Recordkeeping on Restricted Use Pesticides by Certified 
Applicators; Surveys and Reports regulations, it is the policy of USDA 
to err on the side of deregulation. USDA's limited resources should be 
focused on fairly and rationally enforcing a discrete and manageable 
number of regulations. The regulations in Recordkeeping on Restricted 
Use Pesticides by Certified Applicators; Surveys and Reports are not a 
priority.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 110

    Administrative practice and procedure, Agricultural commodities, 
Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, Pesticides and pests, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

    Under the authority of 7 U.S.C. 136a(d)(1)(c), 136i-1, and 450; 7 
CFR 2.17, 2.50; and for the reasons set forth in the preamble, AMS 
amends 7 CFR subtitle B chapter 1 as follows:

PART 110--[REMOVED]

0
1. Remove part 110.

Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-08220 Filed 5-9-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P


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Indexed from Federal Register on May 12, 2025.

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