United States
            Environmental Protection
            Agency
Prevention, Pesticides '.
And Toxic Substances
(7506C),
                                                    August 1997'
           For  Your  Information
Summary
            Maintenance Fees Under the Food
            Quality Protection Act
As part of its program to regulate the use and
production of pesticide products, EPA is required by
Federal Law to collect fees to maintain existing
registrations. The money is used to maintain the
pesticide registrations of each product including the
maintenance of the products' regulatory history, label
reviews, the data reviews, and the extensive risk
assessment required under .Federal Pesticide Law.

As a result of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act
(FQPA) that amended these statutory fee
requirements, EPA is increasing these maintenance
fees to meet this statutory requirement.

The fee was last increased in 1995. The previous
annual maintenance fees were $700 for the first
product and $1400 for each subsequent product. The
annual maintenance fee will be increased for fiscal year
1998 by $250 for the first product and $500 for each
subsequent product. The fee caps are set by statute
and no increase was authorized by the FQPA.
Therefore, no additional revenue can be generated
from raising the fee caps.
          "Each registrant of a pesticide
         shall pay  an annual fee  by
         January 15 of each year....

         ...in each of the calendar years,
         1998,  1999,  and 2000,  the
         Administrator is authorized to
         collect  up  to  an  additional
         $2,000,000   in   a   manner
         consistent mth subsection (k)(5)
         and the recommendations of the
         Inspector   General   of  the
         Environmental    Protection
         Agency. The total fees that may
         be collected under this clause
         shall not exceed $6,000,000."

         -Section  4(I)(5)  of the Federal
         Insecticide Fungicide and B.odenticide
         Act "

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The New Fee Program
 Maintenance Fees and Caps under FQPA
  The New Fee Schedule
                                             i
  •      Increases to $950 for the first product registration and $1,900 for each
        subsequent product registration.
  •      Retains the 50% price breaks for the first product.
  •      Retains the current caps which can only be changed by statute:

  Caps on Fees

  •      No registrant will pay more than $55,000 for the first 50 products;-
  •      No registrant will pay more than $95,000 total;
  •      Small businesses will pay no more than $38,500 for the first 50 products; and
  *      No small business will pay more than $66,500 total.
Effective Date

The 1998 maintenance fee is due to the Agency on January 15, 1998. In late November
1997, EPA will send maintenance fee notices to all firms holding active pesticide
registrations.  These notices will include instructions for submitting payment of the 1998
maintenance fee.

Depending on the effect this increase has on the cancellation rate, the fee structure for the
remaining two years will be revisited.

For More Information

Call the OPP Maintenance Fee Hotline at 1-800-444-7255.

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