By Oregonians for Food and Shelter,
EPA released an updated version of their Runoff and Erosion Mitigation Menu website (https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/mitigation-menu) . The website provides definitions and descriptions of the practices that can be used as on-farm runoff and erosion mitigations. Current pesticide labels do not require applicators to reference the Mitigation Menu website prior to making an application. However, new products and re-registrations will have updated labels requiring applicators to have mitigations in place as described on the website. Currently, these mitigations are expected to apply to agricultural pesticide uses, with non-ag uses being covered in future EPA Strategies.
EPA has also developed a Mitigation Points calculator, which can be used to calculate the number of mitigation points a field has achieved. Points calculations, while not yet required, will be a component of labels in the future, with pesticides requiring between 0 and 9 mitigation points depending on the product. The Mitigation Points calculator can currently be downloaded and filled in for your field to see how your field scores: https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/mitigation-menu#mitigation-options, find the download link in the second paragraph. Because the Calculator is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet, no data are submitted online or to EPA.
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