The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently posted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) final biological opinion (BiOp) for the Enlist pesticide products, Enlist One and Enlist Duo. These herbicides, designed for use in genetically modified corn, cotton, and soybean crops, have undergone rigorous ecological risk assessments to ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The ESA mandates that EPA's actions, including pesticide registration, should not pose risks to federally threatened and endangered species, or their critical habitats. This involves a detailed biological evaluation (BE) to assess if a pesticide may affect these species or habitats, leading to consultations with FWS or the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Background and Consultation on Enlist Products
EPA completed a comprehensive ecological risk assessment in January 2022 for the active ingredients in Enlist products: 2,4-D choline salt and glyphosate dimethylammonium salt. The agency also determined the potential effects of these products on listed species and critical habitats, resulting in "likely to adversely affect" (LAA) determinations for multiple species and habitats. The agency's refined analysis also assessed the potential for "jeopardy" (J) or "adverse modification" (AM) to these species and habitats.
Following the BE, EPA initiated a consultation with FWS and registered both Enlist products with specific label restrictions. These restrictions, aimed at mitigating run-off and spray drift exposure, included off-labelling in certain counties to protect listed species and habitats, anticipating that these measures would prevent J/AM conclusions by FWS.
The Final Biological Opinion
The final BiOp, stemming from EPA's consultation with FWS, incorporates diverse inputs from stakeholders and concludes that the use of Enlist products, as per approved labels, is unlikely to jeopardise listed species or their habitats. However, the BiOp suggests continued need for species and habitat-specific mitigation measures in some areas.
To comply with the ESA, EPA will undertake several actions:
- Annual reporting to FWS with ecological incident data.
- Review and implementation of label changes within 18 months.
- Ongoing data evaluation on Enlist products' exposure to listed species and habitats.
- Providing training and education to pesticide users and applicators.
Next Steps
This BiOp marks the conclusion of EPA's formal consultation process with FWS. The agency is set to work with the registrant for label revisions before the next growing season. Detailed mitigation actions, specific to certain geographic areas, are available on the EPA’s Bulletins Live! Two system.
For comprehensive details, the full Enlist BiOp is available at regulations.gov under docket ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0957.
