The Environmental Protection Agency issued has canceled the label for Xtendimax with Vaporgrip Technology (EPA Reg. No. 524-617), Engenia – (EPA Reg. No. 7969-345), and FeXapan – (EPA Reg. No. 352-913). The cancellation order outlines limited and specific circumstances under which existing stocks of the three affected dicamba products can be used for a limited period of time.
Details of the Order
EPA’s order addresses the sale, distribution, and use of existing stocks of the three affected dicamba products. Distribution or sale by any person is generally prohibited except for ensuring proper disposal or return to the registrant. Growers and commercial applicators may use existing stocks that were in their possession on June 3, 2020, the effective date of the Court decision. Such use must be consistent with the product’s previously-approved label, and may not continue after July 31, 2020.
The cancellation and existing stocks order is consistent with EPA’s standard practice following registration invalidation and is designed to advance compliance, ensure regulatory certainty, and to prevent the misuse of existing stocks.
Summary
This notice announces the Agency’s issuance of a final cancellation order for three pesticide products (Xtendimax with Vaporgrip Technology, EPA Reg. No. 524-6 17, Engenia, EPA Reg. No. 7969-345, and FeXapan, EPA Reg. No. 352-9 13), containing the active ingredient dicamba pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. sections 136-136y. This order is issued in light of an order of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacating these three registrations. Pursuant to the Court’s order EPA considers these products no longer to be registered as of the time of the order June 3, 2020.
Therefore, with limited exceptions, it is a violation of FIFRA for any person to sell or distribute these products. This cancellation order provides for the disposition of existing stocks of Xtendirnax, Engenia, and FeXapan already in the possession of persons other than the registrant at the time of the order on June 3, 2020, and existing stocks in the possession of the registrant as of the time of the order on June 3, 2020. This cancellation order authorizes limited distribution of existing stocks of Xtendimax, Engenia, and FeXapan by commercial applicators and authorizes all other sale or distribution of existing stocks only to facilitate return to the manufacturer or for proper disposal. This cancellation order prohibits any use of existing stocks that is inconsistent with the previously-approved product labeling and prohibits use beyond July 31, 2020.
Background
In 2016, EPA conditionally registered three dicamba-based herbicide products, Xtendimax, Engenia, and FeXapan (also referred to herein as “these dicamba products”), under section 3 of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. 136a, for post-emergent use on crops genetically engineered to be dicamba-tolerant. The registrations were subject to an automatic two-year expiration. Prior to expiration, in the fall of 2018, EPA extended those registrations to allow use until December 20, 2020.