EPA Finalizes Revisions to the EPA Plan for the Federal Certification of Applicators of Restricted Use Pesticides within Indian Country

Released on October 4, 2023

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is strengthening the protection of human health and the environment and reaffirming its commitment to environmental justice in Indian country. Specifically, EPA has finalized revisions to the EPA Plan for the Federal Certification of Applicators of Restricted Use Pesticides within Indian Country (EPA Plan) to conform to the 2017 Certification of Pesticide Applicators (CPA) rule.

In 2017, EPA updated the CPA rule, setting stronger standards for people who apply restricted use pesticides (RUPs). RUPs are the most acutely toxic pesticides or those needing to be applied with special care. RUPs can be used only by certified applicators or individuals under a certified applicator's direct supervision, not by the general public. Applicators are certified by states, tribes, or federal agencies with an EPA-approved certification plan.

The 2017 CPA rule requires that entities, wishing to continue administering certifications to RUP applicators, submit new conforming plans to EPA for approval. Key revisions to the CPA rule include establishing a minimum age for certified applicators and noncertified applicators under the direct supervision of certified applicators, strengthening competency standards, and requiring greater recordkeeping for commercial applicators and RUP retail dealers.

This newly approved EPA Plan replaces a 2014 version to allow for the continued certification of commercial and private pesticide applicators for areas of Indian country that do not have their own specific tribal EPA-approved program, except where a tribe has opted out of the 2023 EPA Plan. The EPA Plan fills a gap whereby certified applicators in Indian country can have legal access to the same RUPs available elsewhere in the United States. Under the EPA Plan, the Agency issues federal certifications to commercial and private applicators to use or supervise the use of RUPs. Tribes may impose additional restrictions or requirements on the use of RUPs through tribal codes, laws, regulations, or other tribal procedures, but are not the entities that issue certifications for individual applicators under the EPA Plan.

Under the EPA Plan, certified commercial applicators who are seeking to apply RUPs in designated Indian country can use an underlying certification issued by a federal, state, or tribal entity with an EPA-approved certification plan and then submit a completed application form that includes a copy of the underlying certification. Private applicators, who may only apply RUPs for agricultural production on their owned or rented property or without compensation in Indian country that falls under the EPA Plan, have the option to either have an underlying certification from a state or tribe with an EPA-approved certification plan, or to become certified by completing an EPA-administered training directly.

Federally recognized tribes have the option to administer their own certification plan, which must be approved by EPA, or enter into an agreement with EPA to use the certification of another certifying authority (another state or tribal entity) instead of being covered by the EPA Plan. Tribes currently under the 2014 EPA Plan do not have to do anything to remain covered by this revised EPA Plan. Tribes that have their own certification plans are listed on EPA’s webpage. If tribes do not want or need RUPs to be applied in their land, they have the option to opt-out of the revised EPA Plan, meaning RUPs will generally be prohibited on that tribe's area of Indian country.

Upon publication of the Federal Register notice, the revised EPA Plan will be available in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0037 and EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0509 at www.regulations.gov.

To read more about the EPA Plan, visit EPA’s website. EPA continues to approve other state, tribal, and federal plans and has currently approved 63 of 68 submitted plans. EPA will continue to update its website on a more frequent basis as plans continue to be approved.