Imidacloprid; Order Denying Objections to Issuance of Tolerance

On four occasions in the first half of 2002, the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) and various other parties filed objections with EPA to final rules under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) establishing pesticide tolerances for various pesticides. The objections apply to 14 pesticides and over 70 separate pesticide tolerances. Although the objections raise numerous pesticide-specific issues, they all focus on the potential risks that the pesticides pose to farm children. This order responds to NRDC's objections as to the imidacloprid tolerance on blueberries. The objections are denied as moot because this imidacloprid tolerance has expired. Because EPA is elsewhere in today's Federal Register reestablishing the imidacloprid tolerance on blueberries, EPA has treated NRDC's objections as comments on the petition to reestablish the blueberry tolerance and has explained in full in this document why NRDC's objections are not well taken.