Harmon, Pamela From: .lean Payne Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2017 9:11 AM To: 'Eric Gordon?; 'Hager, Aaron Poe, Raymond; Goetsch, Warren; Beaver, Brad; Frank, Scott Cc: 'Andy Knepp'; Gary Schmitz CALDWELL, CHRISTOPHER Janet Hou (janet.hou@basf.com) Subject: [External] Dan Kenny (USEPAP) Guidance on Sensitive Areas Good morning guys. I had called Dan Kenny, Chief of the Herbicide Division at USEPA in 0.0. last Friday. He got back to me today. We had a very nice discussion and he was very reasonable and easy to talk to. We discussed the USEPA meaning of ?sensitive areas" on the new labels and here is what he told me. 1. Roadside ditches, grass ?eld borders. treelines or shrubs/bushes in ?eld borders. etc. ARE sensitive areas. He said they had to do this to meet the Endangered Species demands (from lawsuits) put upon them with regard to issuance of these new labels. He also acknowledged that it makes no sense that the base labels for these products allow the use of these products on farmsteads including grassed areas, while the supplemental labels do not allow it. But he said with regard to application of these products for use in dicamba tolerant crops, the sensitive areas must be protected by the downwind buffer. And this would include any grassed or woody areas bordering an Xtend soybean field. Some good news if any, is that we discussed grass watenivays within a ?eld. Dan told me that from his perspective, anything ?within the crop ?eld itself" would not be considered sensitive. Thus the waterway running through the Xtend ?eld would not be a sensitive area. But any grass area bordering the ?eld would be, regardless of whether it is mowed or managed. He also said he is hopeful that in future registrations of this product that they can work to get mowed and managed areas added to the areas that are not considered sensitive. But it will depend of course on how successfully the industry manages this product in terms of future registration considerations. USEPA is also trying to get more consults with Fish Wildlife to better determine what plant life exists under ESA protection so that they can address this better in the future. But for now, the only way they could ?nd to issue any label for these products was to protect everything but roads, unplanted ?elds. dicamba tolerant crops and footprints of buildings. Dan is speaking at the AAPCO meeting in Alexandria in early March and he will discuss the USEPA position on sensitive areas at this meeting so that the states all understand how this is expected to be enforced. I hope this helps although I know it is a dif?cult issue. I welcome your input on how we best communicate this in Illinois to ensure we do a good job as a state in adhering to these labels. I'll prepare something for the IFCA Board to review that will go to our members, but outreach to the other applicators in the industry is also needed. Best regards, Jean Payne, President Illinois Fertilizer Chemical Association 14171 Carole Drive Bloomington, IL 61705 (309) 827-2774