The United States federal and state regulatory landscape associated with water treatment products and technologies is complex, ever changing and unforgiving. Water treatment technologies are regulated across a spectrum of federal, state and local laws. From a federal perspective, there is often the misunderstanding that water treatment technologies are regulated primarily under the Safe Drinking Water Act or the Clean Water Act. However, products and technologies that control “pests”, such as bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa or slime, are also regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). FIFRA is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs. It is important that Water Quality Association (WQA) members understand that certification to NSF/ANSI standards does not exempt water treatment products from FIFRA obligations.
The FIFRA Education Document was developed in 2016 by the WQA FIFRA Taskforce and in consultation with Technology Sciences Group Inc. (TSG). TSG is a multinational consulting firm that provides regulatory and scientific consulting services to assist companies with state, national and international compliance needs. Specifically, TSG can assist WQA members with issues associated with FIFRA compliance as presented in this document. Inquiries should be directed to Erin Tesch at email@example.com or (202) 828-8966.
Please click here to download the FIFRA Education Document.