Pesticides

Hunton’s environmental team recognizes the legal knowledge and scientific background required to address pesticide related regulatory and compliance challenges. Our natural resource and chemical attorneys work together with our firm’s in-house scientist and policy advisors to create comprehensive strategies for our clients nationwide.

Pesticides are highly regulated at the federal level by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a niche sector of the chemical industry under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which governs the manufacture, registration, importation, distribution, sale, and use of pesticides in the United States. We represent industry clients at all levels and assist with the management of pesticides and other chemicals involving complex compliance challenges, regulatory changes, approvals and registrations, labeling, the treated-article exemption, import and export requirements, jurisdictional issues and enforcement matters under FIFRA and other chemical related acts and statutes, including the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The core legal services we provide our clients include:

Compliance advice, litigation and enforcement defense. We have provided clients with strategic FIFRA compliance advice and enforcement defense representation throughout the pesticide product supply chain. We harness our comprehensive understanding of the law to counsel companies on the overlapping jurisdictions of the multiple government agencies involved in pesticide product and advertising regulation at the federal and state level. Our team is familiar with the inner workings of agencies and regulatory players, including EPA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). With multiple former agency and government officials on our team, including several former EPA general counsel and an in-house PhD toxicologist previously with EPA and the White House, we maintain strong working relationships with key contacts within these agencies.

Product registration and registration review. Our team of legal and technical professionals works closely with registrants to bring new pesticide products to market. We understand that registration is the core of FIFRA and EPA’s implementing regulations and is crucial for new pesticides and existing pesticides, which must be periodically re-evaluated to ensure they continue to meet the appropriate safety standard. To streamline this process we assist clients with data submissions, product chemistry and toxicity testing, efficacy testing, and label development including review of marketing claims. We also work with our clients engaged in the distribution and sale of pesticide products to appropriately comply with FIFRA, FFDCA, and EPA’s evolving guidance and requirements.

Most recently, the demand for antibacterial and antiviral disinfectant products during the coronavirus pandemic as well as the growth in false claims of protection, has prompted EPA’s FIFRA enforcement initiative. Our professionals are on the front lines counseling clients on all related FIFRA registration matters, including matters related to products making claims with respect to effectiveness against coronavirus.

Natural resource law and regulation. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires all federal agencies to consider the impact of federal action on listed species and their habitat. This includes any actions surrounding pesticides. EPA, in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), conducts an ESA consultation, a multistep process which can be complex and challenging for pesticide registrants. Our chemicals team works alongside our natural resource lawyers to address this process and any matters concerning wildlife, species protection, agriculture, and public lands. Our team applies years of agency experience, including with the FWS, NMFS and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to advise clients on ESA requirements and their implications and assists in navigating the complex relationships between the EPA and the Services as biological opinions and biological evaluations are developed.