October 29, 2002
Honorable Christine Todd Whitman
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
Dear Governor Whitman:
On behalf of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), we are writing to express our concerns about pending Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action to cancel registrations for most uses of the wood preservative Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), including critical agricultural uses.
NASDA represents the commissioners, secretaries and directors of the state departments of agriculture in the fifty states and four territories. There are numerous chemical/pesticide related functions that states
perform, and we support efforts to ensure that chemical/pesticide use does not cause unreasonable adverse affects to human health and the environment. We are very troubled that cancellation of CCA on a wide variety of wood products for agricultural use will have a serious negative impact on the farming and ranching community throughout the country.
CCA has been used extensively throughout the country for the past 70 years. It is an effective, reliable, safe, and economical wood preservative. It has been approved in the past by EPA for these purposes. We understand that EPA has made no scientific determination that any use of CCA would cause any risk to public health. In fact, we understand that the agency is now conducting a broad scientific evaluation of possible risks posed by CCA-treated wood products and that this study will be released for public comment in the next several months. In addition, we understand that another EPA risk assessment on CCA is underway and scheduled for completion during 2003. We question why EPA plans to take final action cancelling registrations for many CCA uses before these scientific studies are completed.
Unless changed, EPA’s proposed action threatens to be costly and disruptive to agriculture. CCA is critical for numerous agricultural uses. For example, the February 22, 2002 Federal Register notice stated that the cancellation would apply to uses within the American Wood Preservers’ Association Standards classification (C5) for fence posts. Fence posts are fundamental and absolutely essential to agricultural operations. Alternatives to CCA would be substantially more costly to farmers and ranchers, and may not be as effective. Furthermore, for on-farm use, there is little or no human exposure to the treated wood, and as noted above, EPA has not found a health risk even where significant exposure may occur.
NASDA believes that EPA is acting prematurely. Good science is essential to sound regulatory policies. We urge you to defer final action on this matter and not cancel any agricultural uses of CAA until the agency completes its scientific studies and risk assessments. The state departments of agriculture appreciate your consideration and stand ready to work with you on this issue.
Sincerely yours,
<signed>
Sheldon R. Jones
NASDA President
Director, Arizona Department of Agriculture
<signed>
Tommy Irvin
Chairman, NASDA Pesticide Regulation Committee
Commissioner, Georgia Department of Agriculture