The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) will now temporarily provide producers of sanitizers on EPA’s List N of products approved for use against SARS-CoV-2 meant for food-contact surfaces that contain the active ingredient isopropyl alcohol additional supply chain flexibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, EPA is temporarily permitting those sanitizer registrants to add additional registered sources of the active ingredient isopropyl alcohol to a formulation and also to set up approved pesticide manufacturing establishments through notification to the Agency (without prior EPA approval). EPA took this step after hearing from production facilities handling low-moisture products such as grains, cereal, flour and industrial baked goods that they are having difficulty acquiring food-contact surface sanitizers.

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) has proposed new regulations to establish a transparent process for issuing future interpretive guidance documents. “Guidance” generally refers to memoranda, letters, bulletins or “frequently asked questions” Web pages that clarify EPA interpretations of regulations or Agency-administered programs and assist regulated entities with regulatory compliance. Historically, EPA has not issued guidance through an Administrative Procedure Act notice-and-comment process. Accordingly, courts have generally found that interpretive guidance is not legally binding in the same way as a promulgated and codified regulation. However, EPA does expect that regulated entities be familiar with interpretive guidance, and the public has not had a clear mechanism to challenge these documents.

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On April 28, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released joint guidance on reopening during/after the COVID-19 pandemic. The document covers cleaning practices and disinfection practices, citing the list of EPA-approved disinfectants for use against COVID-19. Of course, as businesses reopen, there are concerns about Occupational Safety and Health Standards as well as waste requirements for spent personal protective equipment (PPE).

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As previously featured, U.S. agencies have stepped up scrutiny and enforcement of pesticide law against substances purporting to kill the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Recently the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also stepped up enforcement, sending letters to 45 companies regarding potentially misleading product claims about COVID-19, including various air and water filters that could violate pesticide law. Manufacturers, importers and retailers that deal in pesticide and pesticide devices should pay special attention to any antiviral claims on products in the current regulatory climate.

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