On Jan. 20, President Biden signed an executive order rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. He also signed an order requiring the review of Trump administration rules titled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” The order was accompanied by a fact sheet that lists specific regulations that will be subject to the review, including:
- “Pesticides; Agricultural Worker Protection Standard; Revision of the Application Exclusion Zone Requirements,” 85 Fed. Reg. 68760 (Oct. 30, 2020).
- “The Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of ‘Waters of the United States,’” 85 Fed. Reg. 22250 (April 21, 2020).
- “Chlorpyrifos; Final Order Denying Objections to March 2017 Petition Denial Order,” 84 Fed. Reg. 35555 (July 24, 2019).
- “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding for the Monarch Butterfly,” 85 Fed. Reg. 81813 (Dec. 17, 2020).
NAAA, along with other agricultural groups, thought they had accomplished getting the EPA to amend requirements for the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ). The AEZ, promulgated under the Obama administration’s rewrite of the EPA’s Worker Protection Standards in 2015, is an area around an application device—25 feet for ground rigs or 100 feet for aircraft—that follows the equipment as the application is made. Workers and others without proper personal protective equipment and training cannot enter the AEZ. The AEZ was problematic from the start since it was not wind directional and did not stop at property boundaries. This allowed bystanders to either intentionally or accidentally stop applications.
NAAA, along with the Small Business Administration, first commented to the EPA about these concerns as reported in the September 5, 2014 NAAA eNewsletter. Last November, the EPA updated the policy stating the AEZ does not extend across the property boundaries of the grower’s (target) field. If conditions favor an applicator to treat a crop due to wind direction and other factors moving away from persons outside of a grower’s property but within 25 feet for ground or 100 feet for aerial, a safe application may still be made. It is important to note that an applicator is still responsible to not allow contact to people of the applied product per the pesticide label and Worker Protection requirements.
“The Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’” has been an ongoing back and forth between administrations. The Obama administration rewrote the Clean Water Act’s definition of a Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) in 2015. On April 21, 2020, the Trump administration’s EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers published their final rule rescinding the 2015 Obama-era rule and then issued a replacement rule that became effective on June 22, 2020. The definition still needs to survive judicial review that is likely to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. NAAA supported the Trump administration, which clarified the definition and removed areas defined as WOTUS even though they may have been longtime dry river beds.
There are also a host of rules relating to endangered species or their habitat designations subject to the review, but nothing specific to the pesticide consultation process.
President Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, also issued a memo freezing all pending rule changes proposed by the Trump administration.
In addition, the new president signed an order raising the minimum wage to $15 for the federal workforce. Under the order and an accompanying Department of Labor notice, federal contractors are also required to pay a $15 per hour minimum wage and provide emergency paid leave.
Finally, the president signed a slew of executive orders aimed at addressing the coronavirus pandemic, including an order on “Protecting Worker Health and Safety,” which directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to update COVID-19 safety recommendations for businesses within the next two weeks and review its enforcement efforts. The order also requires OSHA to consider whether any temporary emergency standards on COVID-19, including with respect to masks in the workplace, are necessary, and if so, to issue the new standards by March 15.
