On Aug. 16, 2006, the EPA issued a final rule establishing requirements for pesticide container design and procedures, standards, and label language to facilitate removal of pesticides from containers prior to disposal, as well as guidance on custom blending. The final rule also establishes requirements for containment of stationary pesticide containers and procedures for container refilling operations. The rule is effective Oct. 16, 2006. In the preamble to the rule, the EPA provides additional guidance on its policy for “custom blenders” – companies that provide the services of mixing certain registered pesticides to customers’ specifications. The agency’s 1982 Custom Blending Policy states that a “custom blender,” a term which the EPA has defined in 40 C.F.R. Section 167.3 for purposes of establishment registration requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), need not register a blend of a registered pesticide and other ingredients when it meets certain conditions. In the Aug. 16, 2006, rule, the EPA provides guidance intended to clarify its position that its custom blending policy applies to situations when a blend is diluted.

Under the rule, the EPA, in part, exempts custom blending from the repackaging requirements, although custom blenders of agricultural pesticides are subject to certain containment regulations. In addition, the EPA addresses the issue of whether the 1982 Custom Blending Policy applies when a pesticide is mixed with water or other diluents. The EPA states it is “appropriate to clarify our position on diluting custom blends” because various offices and regions within the agency, as well as the states, “have not had a consistent policy about whether custom blends can be diluted with water or another diluent.” The final rule is available at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2006/August/Day-16/p6856a.pdf.