The EPA has met its Endangered Species Act obligations for less than 5% of all pesticide registrations and uses — a backlog that triggered more than 20 lawsuits covering over 1,000 products and now drives the biggest overhaul of agricultural chemical labels in a generation.

In late November, the agency plans to finalize a draft fungicide strategy protecting more than 1,000 federally endangered and threatened species. Herbicide and insecticide strategies were completed in 2024 and 2025, respectively. A rodenticide strategy remains in development.

Officials laid out the program Monday at the California Association of Pest Control Advisers' 52nd annual conference at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. EPA began building the comprehensive approach in 2021 after the litigation pileup.

What changes on the label?

The new system replaces static label text with chemical-, use- and location-specific instructions that often direct applicators to a website. Bulletins on that site can change monthly.

"A whole suite of mitigation measures have been put in place," and each one "identifies where in the U.S. it applies," said Joshua Ogawa, enforcement headquarters branch chief at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

All new mitigation rules and website links on product labels carry legal authority. Before spraying, applicators must check the EPA Bulletins Live! Two system or product-specific bulletins to see whether their application site overlaps with a Pesticide Use Limitation Area. Bulletins are issued six months before an intended use and apply only to that month before newer bulletins take effect.

The web-based mapping beats the alternative, Ogawa said: "This would be very cumbersome to put on a label." Its location-specific approach also avoids blanket restrictions.

How does California's system work?

California DPR has built its own tool, the Pesticide Regulation's Endangered Species Custom Realtime Internet Bulletin Engine — PRESCRIBE. It delivers precise site- and product-specific information on endangered species protection measures.

The system combines habitat data from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service with U.S. EPA pesticide standards, according to DPR.

What does it mean for growers and applicators?

Much of the burden lands on runoff and drift control. For spray drift, the rules require a wind-directional buffer.

For runoff, applicants must accumulate a set number of mitigation points based on field characteristics — slope, sandy soils and county vulnerability. Points come from conservation practices: cover cropping, vegetation strips, perimeter berms or participation in USDA's Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Those practices carry input and compliance costs, but industry voices say the final rules overlap heavily with what producers already do.

"In the end, it's all one strategy," said Jeffrey Smith, associate director of industry and public relations at Valent U.S.A., who is also active with CropLife America.

The fungicide draft improved markedly through the process, Smith said. "When it started off, it was terrible," he said. "I think when you see the final strategy that comes out next month, it's something we can live with. It's going to take multiple years to get all the ESA labels up there."

What comes next?

Enforcement outreach is in its early stages. "This is a new program, so we're trying to reach out as best we can," Ogawa said.

Growers and applicators should expect a rolling, multiyear transition as EPA converts registrations to ESA-compliant labels, with monthly bulletin updates setting the binding terms for each field and each month.