Implementing the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act Fiscal Year 2018 Maintenance Fees


Implementing the Pesticide Registration
Improvement Act - Fiscal Year 2018
Fifteenth Annual Report

-------
Maintenance Fees
Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund
Under FIFRA section 4(i)(l)(C) as amended, Maintenance Fees, EPA is authorized to collect an
aggregate amount of $27,800,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017 to support certain
activities. This authority was extended through fiscal year 2018 by continuing resolution and the
FY' 18 omnibus spending bill. Maintenance fees are a yearly product registration renewal fee.
Since the per product maintenance fee is a "fitted value" based on estimates of the number of
products for which the fee will be paid each year, aggregate amounts collected may be less than
or greater than the authorized $27,800,000 in any particular year. In FY' 18, the agency collected
$28,432,000. From this amount collected, $693,080 (supporting 4.3 work years) was spent to
carry out new inert ingredient reviews under FIFRA section 4(k)(3), and $2,670,466 (supporting
18.5 work years) was spent to process fast track amendments and new products under FIFRA
section 3(c)(3)(B).
The Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2012 (PRIA 3) created a new set-
aside of up to $800,000 annually for enhancements of information technology (IT) systems to
improve the Agency's review of pesticide applications. Included in these IT enhancements
over the course of the PRIA 3 statutory timeframe are: 1) enhancing the information systems
capabilities to improve the tracking of pesticide registration decisions; 2) implementing a
system for tracking conditional registrations; 3) enhancing the capability to review labels
submitted with registration actions electronically; 4) enhancing the database for information
regarding endangered species assessments for Registration Review; and 5) acquiring and
implementing the capability to electronically assess and evaluate Confidential Statements of
Formula submitted with registration actions.
The EPA has continued work on the IT projects specified in PRIA 3. During FY' 18, efforts
focused on continued development of the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP)' e-Label
(OPPEL), an electronic label that will allow submission of label data elements and
corresponding use index information in a structured, standardized format, and on the electronic
Confidential Statement of Formula (eCSF). This work included development of OPPEL and
eCSF builder applications within the Pesticide Submission Portal (PSP) environment.
During FY' 18, the agency expended roughly $350,000 from the IT set-aside towards these
activities.
In addition, EPA continued developing additional functionality within the PSP, the electronic
system for pesticide applications that was first made available in September 2015. The PSP
allows EPA to accept pesticide applications electronically, a move that will help modernize the
pesticide registration process, increase operational efficiencies and reduce paper waste.
Page 2 of 4

-------
In FY' 18, EPA expanded the functionality of the portal to include:
•	Adding Consortium Submissions
•	Pet Spot-On Enhancement - Ability to provide an electronic avenue to submit
corresponding sales & incident data as they relate to Pet Spot-On products
The agency's payroll obligations charged against the Reregi strati on and Expedited Processing
Fund to offset the cost of the reregi strati on and registration review programs and other
authorized pesticide programs were approximately $12,889,417 (supporting 89.9 work years).
The Fund has two types of receipts: fee collections and interest earned on investments. Interest
earned in FY' 18 totaled $502,981.35.
Appropriated funds are also used in addition to Reregi strati on and Expedited Processing Fund
dollars. In FY' 18, the Enacted Operating Plan spent approximately $18,564,900 in
appropriated funds for reregi strati on and registration review program activities. These funds
supported 86.6 work years.
Per FIFRA section 33(k)(2)(A)(vii), performance-based contracts tend to be contracts with
routine mission support/fixed price task orders or work assignments. Areas covered by these
contracts include information management, the review and characterization of hazard and
exposure data which provides for the development of risk assessments throughout OPP.
The table below provides a summary of the expenditures over a six-year period.
The EPA's FY'13 through FY'18 Expenditures from the FIFRA Reregistration and
Registration Review Fund
Expenditures (in thousands) by Fiscal Year (FY)
For
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Payroll
$15,963.4
$17,853.5
$13,041.3
$10,890.9
$12,029.1
$12,889.4
Contracts
$549.6
$3,429.3
$4,508.4
$2,096.8
$1,651.9
$2,513.5
IT Set-Aside
$182.7
$242.0
$0.0
$0.0
$0.0
$350
Other Expenses
$358.0
$2,365.7
$2,646.3
$1,206.1
$1,697.3
$1,302.6
Total
$17,053.7
$23,890.5
$20,196.0
$14,193.8
$15,378.3
$17,055.5
Page 3 of 4

-------
Impact of Maintenance Fees on Small Businesses
Section 33(k)(4)(B) of FIFRA requires the EPA to report on the number of small businesses
paying maintenance fees that have 10 or fewer employees and annual global gross revenues not
exceeding $2,000,000.
Companies with < $2,000,000 in annual global gross revenues and < 10 employees
#of
# of products per
Annual global gross
Average # of
companies
company
revenues (in thousands)
employees
125
1
$509 K
2.7
26
2
$646 K
2.0
22
3
$640 K
2.9
11
4
$666 K
2.4
2
5
$453 K
2.5
Section 4(i)(l)(F) of FIFRA provides for a 25% reduction in the maintenance fee for the first
product of any small business with:
(a)	< 500 employees,
(b)	< $10,000,000 in average annual global gross revenues, and
(c)	< 5 registered products.
In FY' 18 the EPA granted this 25% reduction in maintenance fees on the first product for:
•	204 small businesses with 1 registered product,
•	49 small businesses with 2 registered products,
•	35 small businesses with 3 registered products,
•	16 small businesses with 4 registered products,
•	10 small businesses with 5 registered products.
All the small businesses that submitted data indicating not more than 10 employees and not more
than $2,000,000 in average global gross revenues received the 25% fee reduction on their first
product. Some small businesses that submitted data indicating more than 10 employees (but fewer
than 500) and more than $2,000,000 million in revenues (but less than $10,000,000) also received
the 25% fee reduction. The total amount of maintenance fees foregone in FY' 18 by the granting
of this 25% reduction on the first product's fee is $275,692.
Page 4 of 4

-------