Pesticides; Certification of Pesticide Applicators; Extension to Expiration Date of Certification Plans

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the expiration deadline of existing Federal, state, territory, and tribal certification plans. This deadline was established in 2017 when the EPA promulgated a final rule revising the Certification of Pesticide Applicators (CPA) regulations to improve the competency of certified applicators of restricted use pesticides (RUPs), increase protection for noncertified applicators using RUPs under the direct supervision of a certified applicator through enhanced pesticide safety training and standards for supervision of noncertified applicators, and establish a minimum age requirement for certified and noncertified applicators using RUPs under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. Federal, state, territory, and tribal certifying authorities with existing certification plans were required to revise their existing certification plans to conform with the updated Federal standards for the certification of applicators of RUPs and submit their revisions for EPA review in March 2020. The existing plans are set to expire on March 4, 2022, unless the revised plans are approved by the Agency. EPA is extending the existing plans' ex