EPA’s Public Comment Period Open Regarding Draft Fungicide Strategy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently hosted a public webinar outlining its Draft Fungicide Strategy, a proposed framework intended to protect more than 1,000 federally listed endangered and threatened species from potential impacts associated with conventional agricultural fungicides. Public comments on the proposal are being accepted through June 29, 2026. The draft strategy follows the EPA’s earlier herbicide and insecticide strategies and would apply to new fungicide registrations and products currently undergoing registration review rather than imposing immediate across-the-board requirements. EPA estimates the proposal could affect approximately 41 million treated agricultural acres annually across the lower 48 states.

The draft strategy uses a three-step framework to evaluate potential population level impacts to listed species, identify mitigation measures, and determine where protections would apply geographically. EPA also proposed several updates related to spray drift mitigation, including reduced buffer distances and expanded use of spray drift adjuvants. During the webinar and related discussions, EPA requested stakeholder feedback on implementation issues involving treated seeds, adjuvants, and mitigation requirements. NAAA has engaged with EPA throughout the development of this fungicide strategy and the other ESA strategies to ensure that they recognize the drift mitigation and other best management practices used by aerial applicators. We are reviewing the draft strategy and will submit comments on behalf of our members.