10:00 - 11:30 am             General Session I             

The opening session will include introductions from CLA, RISE, and CPDA leadership. Then, keynote speaker Ted McKinney will provide insights as a leader in policy, partnerships, and public engagement.
 

1:15 - 2:15 pm                 Series I - Federal Legislative Challenges to FIFRA              

We will discuss legislation in the 117th Congress that undermines both FIFRA) the federal statute for pesticide regulation in the United States, and EPA’s rigorous scientific evaluation and registration of pesticide products.

1:15 - 2:15 pm                  Series I - How Regulators Approach Epidemiology           

This session will detail the process by which epidemiology literature is reviewed and appraised by regulatory agencies, including systematic review, quality assessment, evidence integration, and chemistry prioritization.

2:35 - 3:35 pm                  Series II - Talking Science            

Got a grasp on the science behind pesticides? Now learn how to talk about it! This session will walk you through our new consumer research, including messages that resonate as well as tips and tricks to help you tell an effective story about today’s agriculture.

2:35 – 3:35 pm                 Series II – Adjuvants: The Next Generation

Adjuvants have gone through tremendous changes over the last 25 years and provide significant increased improvement in pesticide performance. The challenge is to match the best adjuvants with the pesticide to increase deposition and maintain drift reduction.

2:35 - 3:35 pm                  Series II - Federal Preemption of FIFRA  

Federal preemption of state law under the authority FIFRA has been debated since long before the last U.S. Supreme Court opinion on the topic, Bates v. Dow, was handed down in 2005. Bates recognized federal preemption of state labeling requirements that diverge from those set in FIFRA and its implementing regulations, whether required by a state legislature or by a court. There is currently a request for the U.S. Supreme Court to review FIFRA’s authority to preempt state labeling requirements and this panel will outline the underlying legal principles of preemption, review the background of Bates and other cases on this topic, and review the arguments currently under consideration for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

3:55 - 4:55 pm                  Series III – Services Perspective: Where Are We on the ESA Pathway

The past 12 months brought new developments in the ESA and FIFRA space. The EPA announced a new ESA policy on active ingredients and an ESA pesticides work plan, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued the malathion biological opinion. The presentations in this session will provide an overview of some of these ongoing efforts to improve the ESA consultation process from the perspective of the Services.

3:55 - 4:55 pm                  Series III - MRL Harmonization with Codex to Promote International Trade       

Harmonizing Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) with Codex when possible is vital to facilitate international trade for the benefit of importers and exporters. In this session, government officials, importers, and exporters will share their perspectives on the current progress and obstacles for international MRL harmonization and the impact MRL policies have on trade.

                                       

April 22, 2022

8:30 - 10:00 am                General Session II          

Close out this year’s Regulatory Conference with a panel from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs discussing current and future agency priorities. EPA leaders will provide an overview of their division’s priorities with opportunity for audience questions.

10:15 - 11:15 am             Series IV – Stakeholder Perspective: Where Are We on the ESA Pathway

The last year brought new developments in the ESA and FIFRA space. These include several biological evaluations and biological opinions, litigation, increased stakeholder engagement, and EPA’s recent announcements on ESA assessments for new active ingredients. Presentations in this session will provide an overview of some of these ongoing efforts to improve the ESA consultation process from the perspective of several stakeholders.

10:15 - 11:15 am             Series IV - CPDA Adjuvant Certification and Adjuvant Application Enhancement

                                            Programs

How does the applicator know if they are using the best available adjuvants? The first part of the session will focus on how the CPDA Adjuvant Certification Program requires a set of data to meet certification standards. The second part of the session will focus on the importance of the Adjuvant Application Enhancement Program, which provides information for matching pesticides to optimum spray tip and drift reduction adjuvant.

10:15 - 11:15 am             Series IV - Meeting EPA's Pledge on Replacing Animal Testing by 2035

EPA in their New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) Workplan reaffirmed their priority to reduce the use of vertebrate animals for toxicity testing, and the Agency is working on the development and application of NAMs to ensure reasonable certainty of no harm to human health and the minimum likelihood of adverse ecological effects. This session will explore ways to develop and implement a scientific strategy that is robust and fit-for-purpose for delivering new alternative approaches that meet the needs of the U.S. EPA for use in decision-making.

11:30 am – 12:30 pm     Series V - Federal and State Container Issues

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) continue to garner attention both at the Environmental Protection Agency and increasingly by states. This session will highlight recent EPA initiatives to address PFAS and close scientific data gaps.  The session also will explore how federal and state efforts to curtail PFAS release into the environment may intersect with the formulation and packaging of pesticides.   

11:30 am - 12:30 pm      Series V - Overview of the Ecological Risk Assessments Conducted for Endangered Species     

Since the release of the Final Revised Methods in 2020 to the announcement of a new approach for ESA risk assessments in 2022, EPA has made significant changes to its ecological risk assessment. In this session, we will take a deeper dive to improve our understanding of the various models used by EPA in these approaches. The session will also include speakers from services to provide their perspectives on these new risk assessment methodologies.