On August 20, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a proposed settlement agreement in the Federal Register at 91 Fed. Reg. 53857 concerning widely used pesticides.
The settlement seeks to resolve an unreasonable delay claim tied to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s long-running petition to revoke all tolerances for neonicotinoid pesticides.
Members of the public have until September 21, 2026, to submit comments on the proposed agreement before the EPA moves forward.
The NRDC originally filed its petition on May 4, 2020, under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, calling for the revocation of all tolerances for residues of five neonicotinoid pesticides on or in food, including Thiamethoxam.
After years without a final EPA decision, plaintiffs filed a mandamus petition on October 29, 2025, arguing the agency’s inaction constituted an unreasonable delay under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C.
The proposed settlement does not ban neonicotinoids outright and does not immediately alter which products farmers are currently permitted to use in the field.
Under the terms of the agreement, the EPA would commit to issuing a final decision on the NRDC petition no later than April 30, 2027, establishing a firm regulatory deadline.
Prior EPA actions referenced in the settlement include advisory label language warning homeowners against using neonicotinoid products and the cancellation of spray uses of imidacloprid on residential turf due to health concerns.
Based on the EPA’s previous risk management decisions supporting the currently registered uses of these neonicotinoids, analysts consider it unlikely that all tolerances will be revoked across all five compounds.
The debate over neonicotinoid registration has for many years centred heavily on the potential effects these pesticides may have on pollinator populations, including bees.
Even if the EPA were to conclude that pollinator risks warrant further restrictions, any such decision would be governed by the risk-benefit standard established under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, known as FIFRA.
That standard requires regulators to weigh environmental and health risks against the significant agricultural and economic benefits that neonicotinoids provide to farmers across the United States.
The outcome of the EPA’s final decision, due by April 2027, could have substantial implications for agricultural pesticide use and future regulatory approaches to pollinator protection nationwide.