PRN 95-1: Effluent Discharge Labeling Statements
May 1, 1995
Notice To: Manufacturers, Producers, Formulators, and Registrants of Pesticide Products
Attention: Persons Responsible for Registration of Pesticide Products
Subject: Effluent Discharge Labeling Statements
This notice exempts certain products from bearing effluent discharge labeling statements specified by P.R. Notice 93-10 for manufacturing use products and end use products that may be discharged to waters of the United States or municipal sewer systems.
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Background
On July 23, 1993, the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) issued P.R. Notice 93-10 which specified that the following revised effluent discharge statements should appear on the labeling of pesticide products falling within the scope of that notice:
"Do not discharge effluent containing this product into lakes, streams, ponds, estuaries, oceans or other waters unless in accordance with the requirements of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and the permitting authority has been notified in writing prior to discharge. Do not discharge effluent containing this product to sewer systems without previously notifying the local sewage treatment plant authority. For guidance contact your State Water Board or Regional Office of the EPA."
The purpose of these statements is to remind manufacturers, formulators, and facilities which may use and discharge pesticides of their obligations under the Clean Water Act or to local Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). OPP believes that these parties may be already aware of their obligations via other mechanisms at the state and local level. While OPP has required variations of the above labeling statements since the late 1970's, the purpose of these statements has been to simply augment other mechanisms used by the Office of Water, the states and local POTWs to inform pesticide producers and users of their obligations under the CWA or local authorities.
Registrants have informed EPA that P.R. Notice 93-10 may have a significant cost impact on registrants who sell end-use products in small containers. Some registrants have informed OPP that they are having difficulty fitting all of the required statements on small, end-use container labels, and that the development of supplemental labeling (such as booklets, pull-outs or inserts) adds significant expense to the production of such products. In addition, requiring the statements in P.R. Notice 93-10 for small, end-use containers will result in an additional workload for OPP because supplemental labeling must be submitted to OPP and approved as amendments.
Exempting small, end-use containers from effluent labeling statements is a reasonable and common sense approach. OPP believes that placing these statements on large, end-use containers and on all technical grade and manufacturing-use containers will provide an adequate reminder to the applicable pesticide producers and users of their obligations with respect to effluent discharges. OPP also believes that the costs to registrants and the Agency of requiring NPDES statements for small, end-use containers are not sufficiently counterbalanced by the benefits of such statements.
Accordingly, by this notice OPP is revising the scope of P.R. Notice 93-10 to exclude products in certain end-use containers which meet the criteria in Section II below. However, P.R. Notice 93-10 still applies to end-use products in large containers and to all technical grade and manufacturing-use products.
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Scope
Effective immediately, the scope of P.R. Notice 93-10 is revised to exempt end-use products in containers of less than 5 gallons (liquid), less than 50 pounds (solid, dry weight) and in aerosol containers of any size. P.R. Notice 93-10 still applies to the following kinds of pesticide products that may result in discharges to the waters of the United States or to municipal sewer systems, including but not limited to: (A) all technical grade and manufacturing use products; and (B) end-use products packaged in containers equal to or greater than 5 gallons (liquid) or 50 pounds (solid, dry weight), and registered for industrial preservative, water treatment, other industrial processing uses (such as cooling tower water systems, pulp and paper mill water systems, secondary oil recovery injection water systems, food processing operations, leather tanning, wood protection and textile treatment) and commercial and institutional uses (including, but not limited to, hospitals, hotels/motels, office buildings and prisons).
The exemption of certain containers from the labeling requirements of P.R. Notice 93-10 does not relieve a producer or user of such products from the requirements of the Clean Water Act or state or local requirements.
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Effective Date And Procedures
The effective dates of P.R. Notice 93-10 remain the same. To remain in compliance with FIFRA: (1) all products distributed or sold by registrants and distributors (supplemental registrants) should bear labeling that is consistent with this notice by October 1, 1995 and (2) all products distributed or sold by persons other than registrants or supplemental registrants after October 1, 1997 should bear correct labeling. After these dates, the Agency may issue a Notice of Intent to Cancel or bring enforcement action against any product not in compliance with this notice.
Registrants of products packaged only in exempted containers that already bear these statements may remove them by notification as described below.
Registrants of products packaged in both exempted and non-exempted containers may distribute or sell the containers exempted by this notice without the NPDES statements. However, registrants of these products should retain and update these statements on the label for the non-exempted containers by notification as described below.
Registrants of products packaged in containers subject to this notice should submit for each product a notification consisting of an application form (EPA Form 8570-1), a copy of the proposed labeling with changes highlighted in a way that can be photocopied, and the following statement:
"I certify that this notification is consistent with PR 95-1 and EPA regulations at 40 CFR 152.46 and that no other changes have been made to the labeling of this product. I further understand that if this notification is not consistent with the terms of PR Notice 95-1 and 40 CFR 152.46, then this product may be in violation of FIFRA and I may be subject to enforcement action and penalties under sections 12 and 14 of FIFRA."
Stephen L. Johnson, Director
Registration Division