Comer, Norman Express Concerns Over EPA’s Final Rule Banning the Use of Chlorpyrifos on Food

Request documents and information related to the process used to develop final rule

WASHINGTON – Today, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on the Environment Ranking Member Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan expressing concerns over the process EPA used to promulgate their final rule revoking the use of chlorpyrifos on food. The lawmakers highlighted the negative impact the Biden Administration’s action will have on the agricultural community, who were left with no guidance on how to proceed after the ban is effective. 

“We are conducting oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s August 18, 2021 final rule revoking the use of chlorpyrifos on food. Committee Republicans are concerned about the process that EPA used to promulgate this rule and the impact that the action will have on growers, who are left with no guidance on how to proceed after February 2022 when the ban is effective. It is critical that EPA ensures the American people and the agricultural community that it is using the best science in its regulatory decisions. Unfortunately, in this case, instead of following the science, it appears EPA leveraged a Ninth Circuit ruling to ban a product to appease liberal activists without considering the impacts on the agricultural community… This decision not only leaves the agricultural industry in a difficult position as they try to recover from the global pandemic but also leaves the American people in scientific doubt,” wrote the lawmakers. 

In order to understand EPA’s internal scientific and regulatory process underpinning this rule, the Republican lawmakers are requesting all documents and communications related to the final rule. 

Read the letter to Administrator Regan here.