Board of Pesticides Control Update
Stay up to date with the latest from the Board of Pesticides Control. This update covers everything you need to know about upcoming meetings, new rules, and important reminders to keep you and your community safe. We’re here to keep you informed, and we’d like to hear your thoughts—drop us an email anytime at pesticides@maine.gov.
The next Board Meeting is April 10, 2026 it will be hybrid at the Deering Building in Rm 101 in Augusta, ME 04330, and on Microsoft Teams. The meeting starts at 9:00 AM. For more information, visit the Board Meetings Page.
The following program has been approved for pesticide recertification credits. More recertification opportunities may be found on the BPC Credit Calendar.
March 10, 2026 – Keeping Ornamental Trees Healthy
March 17, 2026 – Maine Vegetable and Fruit School
March 18, 2026 – Preseason Tree Fruit Meeting
The BPC maintains a list of registered products on the front page of its website. For a list of the current Maine registrations.
Recording of Training for Annual Use Summary Reports and Annual Sales Summary Reports
BPC hosted a live training on February 19, 2026 at 9:00 AM on Microsoft Teams for anyone that was having issues submitting annual reports. The recording of this live training is now available on the DACF Youtube page.
Please visit our website or use the guides below to submit your annual reports:
If you have issues logging into your account, please reach out to the BPC at pesticides@maine.gov or 207-287-2731. BPC is currently experiencing a high number of requests for login assistance, with only a limited number of staff available to help. Your patience is greatly appreciated as we work to process your request.
New rules requiring reports to be submitted electronically were implemented in 2024, see CMR01-026 Chapter 50: Record Keeping and Reporting Requirements.
Last month’s Tox Talk focused on the toxicological consequences when multiple pesticides interact with each other; the piece also introduced the concept of an “additive effect.” This occurs when two pesticides have the same mode of action, e.g. same IRAC or HRAC class.
For example, imagine the following hypothetical scenario. Two different herbicides- herbicide A and herbicide B – have the same mode of action; each individual herbicide has a LOEAL (lowest observed adverse effect level) of 10 ppm/kg. If residues are detected at 4 ppm for herbicide A and 6 ppm for herbicide B, the effect is additive and the total detection is 10 ppm, and therefore an adverse effect is likely anticipated.
The concept of an additive effect is both timely and relevant. Last month, the Office of Cannabis Policy reported that some vaping products contained elevated levels of pesticides that were above a health-protective threshold. Seven pesticides above this threshold were detected in the product “Sexy Sally.” Three of the pesticides were pyrethroids in the same IRAC code (3a); these insecticides are bifenthrin, cypermethrin, and permethrin which were respectively 191-fold, 23-fold, and 2.5-fold above the testing standards. Because these insecticides target the same protein involved in neuron signaling, the effects are likely additive and collectively 216.5-fold above the adult pass/fail testing standard.
Source:
Office of Cannabis Policy – Patient Advisory January 22, 2026
This month, the BPC compliance team would like to remind pesticide applicators about calibration and other powered equipment requirements. Chapter 22 of the BPC rules explains what you need to know about the calibration of powered equipment used for outdoor pesticide applications, as well as other requirements for this type of use, such as weather conditions, sensitive areas, aerial applications, drift, and other topics. Please see Chapter 22 for full details on the BPC Laws & Regulations webpage.
Inspectors conducting routine or for-cause inspections may check to make sure you have complied with the following requirements for powered equipment:
- Pesticide spray equipment shall be used in accordance with its manufacturer’s recommendations and instructions, and shall be in sound mechanical condition, free of leaks and other defects or malfunctions which might cause pesticides to be deposited off-target.
- Pesticide spray equipment shall be properly calibrated consistent with Board or University published guidance. Sufficient records to demonstrate proper calibration must be maintained and made available to representatives of the Board upon request.
- Pesticide application equipment shall have properly functioning shut-off valves or other mechanisms which enable the operator to prevent direct discharge and minimize drift to non-target areas. Spray equipment designed to draw water must also have a properly functioning antisiphoning device.
Additional resources on calibration can be found on the UNH Extension webpage.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on a proposed process to review and qualify conservation programs and experts that have technical expertise in runoff and erosion measures. Establishing a list of qualified conservation programs and experts will help growers find trusted guidance to help them control pesticide runoff and erosion on their fields. This effort will support EPA’s mission to keep pesticides out of America’s rivers, streams, and communities, by making it easier for growers to use proven practices that protect soil, water, wildlife, and human health at the same time.
Every program and expert will need to meet clear, science‑based standards that show they can reduce runoff and erosion in a real and measurable way. Programs or experts that do not sufficiently enhance environmental protections will not qualify.
This proposal is also designed to reduce confusion and paperwork for growers without weakening protections. By giving credit for strong conservation practices that many farmers already use, EPA is rewarding good actors who are already using good stewardship practices to reduce pesticide exposures.
In its final Insecticide Strategy, EPA made one qualified conservation plan available to farmers to ease compliance. This proposed process is the first step to making more plans available that meet runoff and erosion mitigation requirements. EPA will explain how plans and practices are scored and will update them as new science becomes available, so that the system stays protective over time.
EPA’s Mitigation Point System
EPA has developed several strategies to improve protection for listed species and meet its Endangered Species Act obligations. As part of these strategies, EPA adopted a mitigation point system that clearly sets the level of runoff and erosion mitigation required for a pesticide to reduce exposure to non-target organisms, including threatened and endangered species. A point in this system stands for a specific level of expected risk reduction, based on current science. When protection is needed, EPA will assign each pesticide product points to reduce the level of exposure from runoff and erosion. These mitigation requirements appear on product labels and bulletins for the pesticide product in the Bulletins Live! Two System. Before applying a pesticide product, growers would need to adopt the mitigation measures selected from EPA’s Mitigation Menu that meet or exceed the number required on the label or bulletins.
Growers can achieve points based on:
- The number and type of runoff or erosion mitigation measures implemented on a treated field.
- Field characteristics or application parameters (for example, being in a county with low runoff vulnerability, having a flat field slope, using micro-sprinklers, or treating only a small portion of the field).
- Participation in a qualified conservation program.
If finalized, this proposal would give landowners and growers credit for measures they may have already taken, such as cover crops or grassed waterways, instead of making them start from scratch. This helps farmers who are already investing in soil health and environmental stewardship.
What EPA is Proposing
- Provide growers credit for implementing mitigation practices (such as vegetative filter strips or field terracing) under a qualified conservation program if that program helps growers to achieve at least nine points on their fields.
- Recognize that experts, who are well-versed in advising growers on runoff mitigation, erosion reduction measures and EPA’s Strategies, can assess existing field conditions for characteristics that may lead to reduced runoff or erosion. A technical expert could assess a field for anywhere from zero to nine or more points so that a grower would have some form of documentation that could be provided to commercial applicators to know what points are already on the field to ensure a pesticide product is applied in compliance with its labeling (including the designated point value).
- Conservation programs and technical experts would be able to apply to become “EPA Qualified” through EPA’s website. Qualifying conservation programs and technical experts represent an additional step the agency is taking to increase protections for endangered species and habitats while also reducing burdens to growers.
Comments can be submitted to docket ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2025-1906 at www.regulations.gov. Upon publication of a Federal Register notice, the agency will extend the current comment period for 30 days until April 6, 2026.
Read the plan
WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the strongest protections in agency history for over-the-top (OTT) dicamba application on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybean crops. This decision responds directly to the strong advocacy of America’s cotton and soybean farmers, particularly growers across the Cotton Belt, who have been clear and consistent about the critical challenges they face without access to this tool for controlling resistant weeds in their growing crops. Dicamba has already been on the market and available for sale and in wide, continuous use on farms across the United States regardless of and prior to today’s announcement, which is specifically focused on OTT application.
President Trump has remained deeply committed to supporting America’s farmers and rural communities. This action reflects his administration’s commitment to ensuring farmers have the tools they need to succeed while protecting the environment with the strongest safeguards ever imposed on OTT dicamba use. Cotton farmers across the southern United States have been particularly vocal about why they need OTT dicamba as herbicide-resistant weeds like Palmer amaranth have become nearly impossible to control with other available tools, threatening crop yields and farm viability. These “super weeds” can grow 3 inches per day and destroy entire fields. Without effective weed management during the growing season, these producers face devastating economic losses. This temporary approval reflects the voices of farmers who depend on this tool using informed restrictions and safety measures.
From day one of this review, EPA committed to gold-standard science and radical transparency. We conducted a thorough pesticide evaluation, using the best available data and reviewing hundreds of publicly available independent, peer-reviewed studies and real-world field results to conduct a comprehensive human health and ecological risk assessment. To be clear, these studies involved pesticide applicators with decades of intensive exposure, not typical consumers. EPA took these studies seriously, carefully considered them in our risk assessments, and built extra protections into the registration to reduce worker contact with the product.
Additionally, the ecological risks associated with dicamba drift and volatility are real. If not carefuly mitigated, off-target movement of dicamba can damage sensitive plants and impact neighboring farms and natural ecosystems. These concerns are exactly why the strongest safeguards ever are essential.
When applied according to the new label instructions, EPA’s analysis found no unreasonable risk to human health and the environment from OTT dicamba use. EPA recognizes that previous drift issues created legitimate concerns, and designed these new label restrictions to directly address them, including cutting the amount of dicamba that can be used annually in half, doubling required safety agents, requiring conservation practices to protect endangered species, and restricting applications during high temperatures when exposure and volatility risks increase. This determination supports a time limited approval covering only the next two growing seasons and will be subject to further review.
We will continue to track real-world outcomes, and adjust course quickly if new information emerges. EPA’s commitment is clear: protect communities and ecosystems with uncompromising science while providing farmers the tools they need to succeed responsibly.
EPA is requiring an extensive suite of mitigation measures, each designed to reduce drift, minimize volatility, and protect ecosystems:
New Restrictions for 2026 Registration
- Maximum application rate cut in half: A maximum of two applications of 0.5 lbs. of dicamba per acre may be made annually, for a maximum of 1.0 lb. of all dicamba products annually.* This directly reduces the total amount of dicamba in the environment and limits potential exposure to sensitive species.
- Doubled volatility reduction agents: 40 oz./acre of approved Volatility Reduction Agent (VRA) must be added to every application.** This significantly reduces the likelihood that dicamba will volatilize (turn into vapor) after application and drift off-target hours or days later—one of the primary pathways for environmental damage.
- Mandatory conservation practices: Growers must achieve 3 runoff/erosion mitigation points from EPA’s certified conservation practices menu on each treated field to protect endangered and threatened species. In some geographically-specific pesticide use limitation areas (PULAs) where especially vulnerable species require additional safeguards, 6 points are required. These practices—such as vegetative buffers, contour farming, and cover crops—physically prevent dicamba from moving off-field in runoff or eroded soil, protecting waterways and habitats.
- Temperature-based application limits: For applications occurring on a day with a forecasted temperature between 85-95°F on the day of or the day after application, a user may only treat up to 50% of their untreated dicamba-tolerant (DT) cotton and soybean acres in a county. Remaining DT cotton and soybean acres may not be treated until at least two days after the initial application. This reduces risk during conditions when volatility and drift are elevated. No applications may occur if the temperature is forecasted to be at or above 95°F on the day of or the day after a planned application, eliminating applications during the highest-risk conditions.
*The 2020 registration permitted up to four applications of 0.5 lbs./acre (only two could be over-the-top) for a total of 2.0 lbs. of dicamba annually.
Legacy Restrictions Retained on the 2026 Registration
- Restricted Use Pesticide designation: Only certified applicators may use this product, ensuring applications are made by trained professionals who understand the risks.
- Annual mandatory training: Certified applicators must complete annual training specific to OTT dicamba use, keeping users informed of label requirements, best practices, and environmental protection guidelines.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE): Several products require loaders, mixers, handlers, and applicators to wear label-approved PPE, directly reducing worker exposure.
- 24-hour Restricted Entry Interval (REI): No one may re-enter a treated field within 24 hours of application, protecting workers and the public from exposure.
- Mandatory Drift Reduction Agent (DRA): An approved DRA must be added to every tank mix, creating larger, heavier droplets that are less likely to drift off-target.
- 240-ft. downwind spray drift buffer:* A substantial physical buffer must be maintained during applications to protect adjacent areas. This distance may be decreased only if additional label-approved mitigations (hooded sprayers, downwind windbreaks, etc.) are used, ensuring protection is maintained.
- Strict application timing restrictions: Applications may not be made during a temperature inversion (when atmospheric conditions trap pesticides near the ground and increase drift risk), within 48 hours ahead of forecasted rainfall (which can wash dicamba off-target), if soil is saturated with water, or within one hour after sunrise or after two hours before sunset (when inversions are most likely). These timing restrictions target the specific weather conditions that have historically led to drift problems.
- Proximity restrictions: Applications are prohibited if dicamba-sensitive crops or plants are in downwind areas,**** preventing direct harm to vulnerable species and neighboring crops.
- Wind speed requirements: Applications must take place when wind speed is between 3-10 mph—strong enough to prevent inversions but not so strong as to cause excessive drift.
- Droplet size requirements: Applications must use coarse or coarser spray droplets, which are heavier and less prone to drift than fine droplets.
- Low spray height: Spray release height must be no higher than 2 feet above the ground or crop canopy, minimizing the distance droplets can drift before reaching their target.
- Aerial application prohibition: Aerial application is completely prohibited, eliminating a higher-risk application method.
- Tank mixing prohibition: Tank mixing with ammonium sulfate-containing products is prohibited because these products can increase volatility.
- Mandatory record keeping: Specific records must be kept of every application to ensure consistency with all label requirements and enable enforcement.
***The distance of downwind spray drift buffers may be decreased if other label-approved mitigations are used (use of a hooded sprayer, a downwind windbreak, etc.)
****A list of dicamba-sensitive plants and crops is provided on the label.
EPA is making clear that these restrictions are not optional suggestions. They are enforceable legal requirements. Applicators who fail to follow label directions are subject to significant penalties under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), including civil fines and, in cases of knowing violations, criminal prosecution. EPA will work with state enforcement to actively monitor complince, and violations will be met with serious consequences.
We will continue to track real-world outcomes, require manufacturers to provide additional data if necessary, and will not hesitate to adjust restrictions or revoke approvals quickly if new information emerges showing risks are not being adequately controlled. This two-season limited approval provides a critical checkpoint. EPA will comprehensively review performance data, incident reports, and environmental monitoring results before considering any future approvals.
Throughout the review process, farmers, workers, environmental organizations, and the public submitted thousands of comments, all of which EPA carefully considered. This decision reflects a careful balance between protecting ecological health and community well-being and supporting farmers’ pressing need for effective weed-control tools.
EPA’s highest priority remains safeguarding human health and the environment. This registration marks an important milestone in the agency’s ongoing work to strengthen pesticide oversight, enhance safety through transparency, and ensure that all regulatory decisions are guided by the best available science.
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