News Releases from Region 08

Salt Lake City-based Thatcher Group to resolve alleged violations of pesticide registration and labeling requirements

Agreement resolves non-compliance identified through inspections in Nevada, New York, and Utah

DENVER – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Thatcher Group, Inc. (Thatcher) of Salt Lake City, Utah, resolving alleged violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in Nevada, New York and Utah. Under the terms of a Consent Agreement and Final Order filed on November 14, Thatcher will pay a civil penalty of $300,415 to resolve the alleged violations.

“EPA’s pesticide laws ensure that consumers have clear and current information about products and how to use them safely,” said Suzanne Bohan, director of EPA’s regional enforcement program. “We will continue to work with our state partners to secure compliance with registration and labeling requirements that protect people from exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.”

This settlement resulted from an EPA-led investigation across several states and EPA regions.  Between 2014 and 2018, inspections of Thatcher’s production and distribution facilities in Nevada and Utah conducted by EPA, the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA), and the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) found Thatcher did not properly register pesticide products sold by its distributors and did not ensure its distributors used current labeling. Initial inspections conducted by EPA between 2014 and 2017 were followed up by state investigations, including a January 2018 UDAF inspection that found Thatcher was producing and distributing an unregistered disinfectant. NDA inspections completed in March 2018 also found the company’s Nevada facility was distributing disinfectants with outdated labeling.    

Additionally, an EPA investigation found that Thatcher failed to register its pesticide facility in Williamson, New York, prior to producing pesticides in 2014 and did not report annual pesticide production data for 2015 and 2016 by the required due dates. An inspection conducted in October 2018 found the New York facility was distributing an unregistered sanitizer and an unregistered disinfectant.     

FIFRA registration and labeling requirements protect human health and the environment by ensuring pesticides in the market place are tested and safe to use. The process of registering a pesticide is a scientific, legal, and administrative procedure through which EPA examines the ingredients of the pesticide; the specific site or crop where it is to be used; the amount, frequency, and timing of its use; and storage and disposal practices. The agency evaluates registration applications to assess a wide variety of potential health and environmental effects associated with use of the product. FIFRA’s labeling requirements provide the public with important, current information on how to safely use, store, and dispose of pesticide products. 

For more on FIFRA and its requirements, visit: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act

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