Update on EPA’s Pollinator Protection Efforts North American Beekeeping Conference January 2017 Rick Keigwin Office of Pesticide Programs US Environmental Protection Agency Thank you. It is very nice to be here. In particular, I want to thank Gene Brandi for inviting me back to be with all of you again.

Presentation Outline Efforts Under the National Pollinator Health Strategy Acute Risk Mitigation Policy Status of the Neonicotinoid Re-evaluation Questions I know I only have about 20 minutes, so I’m going to try to do this quickly to allow some time for questions. I will be here for most of the morning and will be happy to answer questions after my talk.

EPA’s Efforts Under the National Pollinator Health Strategy

EPA’s Efforts Under the National Pollinator Health Strategy Assess effects of pesticides on bees & other pollinators Expedite registration of new products to control varroa mites Encourage pollinator protection and habitat plantings in green infrastructure and Superfund projects, and, enhance pollinator habitat at EPA-owned facilities Varroa control products: no new modes of actions pending review Site assessments at all EPA-owned facilities Inventory of resident pollinators IPM and IVM programs that address pollinator protection and promote stable, pollinator-friendly plant communities Edison Electric MOU: EPA, DOI, DOE

Assess effects of pesticides Prioritized chemicals for higher-tiered testing Initiated rulemaking to codify tiered acute and chronic data requirements Hosted a workshop on Non-Apis Bee Exposure Continuing to assess new and existing active ingredients utilizing the pollinator risk assessment framework Workshop held this week in Arlington, VA Representation from a broad set of stakeholders Identified potential surrogates for use in risk assessment Ranked routes of exposures to determine the extent to which honey bees are a protective means for evaluating exposure Discussed the available data for model parameterization Identified further research needs

Acute Risk Mitigation Policy

Managed Pollinator Protection Plans MP3 Symposium held March 2016 Sessions focused on: objectives/lessons learned; effectiveness of MP3s; engaging stakeholders; tools for tracking and mapping Majority of states have implemented, are developing or planning to develop an MP3 Formed workgroup under the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee to provide input on performance metrics Co-sponsored with NASDA, HBHC, USDA, and EPA 48 states have either developed plans or have plans in development; Several tribes also have MP3’s under development 94% of survey respondents said that the symposium was a high value experience Majority of survey respondents said that MP3s will address pollinator health concerns

Acute Risk Mitigation Policy Utilizes a quantitative risk approach Risk Quotient > 0.4 (based on contact exposure) Liquid/dust formulations Foliar exposure to a crop that may utilize contract pollination Exceptions: Products with short residual toxicity times Crops with extended bloom periods Response to stakeholder feedback to provide more flexibility to growers to meet their pest management needs. Exceptions were developed to allow applications of certain products during hours when bees are less likely to be foraging

Acute Risk Mitigation Policy FOR FOLIAR APPLICATIONS OF THIS PRODUCT TO A CROP WHERE BEES ARE UNDER CONTRACT TO POLLINATE THAT CROP: Foliar application of this product is prohibited to a crop from onset of flowering until flowering is complete when bees are under contract for pollination services to that crop unless the application is made to prevent or control a threat to public health and/or animal health as determined by a state, tribal, authorized local health department, or vector control agency. Made changes to clarify that the policy applies when 3 conditions are met The target crop is flowering The target crops of the application is the target crop of the pollination services A contract exists between the grower and the beekeeper The revised policy also includes a discussion of certain terms: Onset of flowering Until flowering is complete Bees are under contract

Acute Risk Mitigation Policy Environmental Hazard Language for Pollinating Insects: This product is [moderately/highly] toxic to bees and other pollinating insects exposed to direct treatment or to residues in/on blooming crops or weeds. Protect pollinating insects by following label directions intended to minimize drift and reduce pesticide risk to these organisms. Also received comments about the current environmental hazards statement. Concerns raised that the current language could lead to confusion and/or impact efforts to enforce the label. A key purpose of the environmental hazards statement is to provide general information; restrictions should be in the Directions for Use section.

Acute Risk Mitigation Policy Exception: Indeterminate Blooming Crops The application is being made to an indeterminate blooming crop in the time between 2-hours prior to sunset and sunrise; OR The application is being made to an indeterminate blooming crop at a time when the temperature at the application site is 50oF or less. Exception: Products with short residual toxicity times The application is made with a product with an residual toxicity time less than 6 hours (RT25 < 6) and the application is made in the time between 2-hours prior to sunset but not less than 8 hours prior to sunrise.

Acute Risk Mitigation Policy Implementation Group 1: Active ingredients with LD50 < 11µg/bee Group 2: Active ingredients with LD50 > 11µg/bee Implicated in beekills and/or Residues found in pollen and/or wax Group 3: All other active ingredients Over the next 4 months, letters will be sent to registrants of active ingredients in Group 1. The final policy lists the active ingredients in Group 1. Registrants will have the option to lower the application rates to bring the risk quotient below 0.4.

Status of the Neonicotinoid Re-evaluation

Imidacloprid, Clothianidin, Thiamethoxam, and Dinotefuran Released the aquatic risk assessment Dinotefuran Released a Tier 1 pollinator risk assessment Clothianidin and thiamethoxam Released a preliminary pollinator risk assessment Assessments are now available; comment periods will begin in the near future. Combined clothianidin and thiamethoxam into a single risk assessment because the toxicities and use patterns are similar

Dinotefuran Preliminary Pollinator Risk Assessment Some use patterns have low on-field risk Based on attractiveness and agronomic practices Similar to those identified for other neonicotinoids Acute and chronic adult risk quotient exceedances for: Default Tier I: All other use patterns Refined Tier I: Most use patterns where residue data are available

Clothianidin and Thiamethoxam Preliminary Pollinator Risk Assessments Low On-Field Risks for: Root and tuber vegetables Bulb vegetables Leafy vegetables Brassica leafy vegetables Tobacco Artichoke Tomato Low On-Field Risks for: Seed treatments Corn Cotton Soybean Canola Sunflower Soil treatment of corn Conclusions based on Low crop attractiveness Crop is harvested prior to bloom Flowering crop is not attractive to honey bees Refined Tier I Assessment Tier II assessment Foraging behavior of bees

Clothianidin and Thiamethoxam Preliminary Pollinator Risk Assessments Potential On-Field Risks for: Foliar Cotton (both) Cucurbits (both) Berries (thiamethoxam only) Stone fruit (thiamethoxam only) Soil Citrus (both) Conclusions based on: Empirical residue data Refined Tier assessments Colony level impacts due to contaminated nectar (alone) and bee bread (pollen + nectar) Incident information

Next Steps in the Neonicotinoid Re-evaluation January 2017 Imidacloprid aquatic risk assessment Clothianidin, Thiamethoxam, and Dinotefuran preliminary pollinator assessments Fall 2017: Clothianidin, Thiamethoxam, and Dinotefuran Draft ecological risk assessments Spring/Summer 2018: All Neonicotinoids Revised pollinator/ecological risk assessments Proposed interim registration review decisions Winter 2018/2019: All Neonicotinoids Interim registration review decisions Plan is to better align all of the assessments, since in many cases the chemicals are substitutes for each other

Questions