Science & Technology 1400 Independence Ave, SW

Monitoring Programs Division Room 0611, Stop 0276

Washington, DC 20250

PDP April through June 2016 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 1 

February 12, 2016

TO: See Distribution List

FROM: Diana Haynes

Director, Monitoring Programs Division

SUBJECT: Program Plan (April through June 2016) – Pesticide Data Program,

Version 1.0

This Program Plan serves as the current Statement of Work for the period April through 

June 2016 for each of the States participating in the Pesticide Data Program (PDP). The 

contents of the Plan have been discussed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

I. ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES

A. Summary Status:

The 2014 PDP Annual Summary was released on January 11, 2016 and posted to the 

PDP website. Printed copies will be available later this Spring.

B. Cooperative Agreements/Financial:

Final Cooperative Agreements for Fiscal Year 2016 have been issued to all PDP 

participating States.

C. Program Meetings:

PDP Federal/State Meeting: A PDP Federal/State Meeting will be held April 19-21,

2016 in Sacramento, California. Attendees will include PDP Administrative Managers, 

Sampling Managers, Technical Program Managers, and Quality Assurance Officers as 

well as representatives from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the 

California Farm Bureau Federation, USDA, EPA, and FDA.

D. Advisory Committees:

Sampling Advisory Group: Members of the Sampling Advisory Group (SAG) are

Brian Regan (Michigan), Ken McManus (Maryland), and Dan Milo (Ohio). Brian Regan 

serves as the Presiding Member of the SAG.

DIANA 

HAYNES

Digitally signed by DIANA HAYNES 

DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, 

ou=Department of Agriculture, cn=DIANA 

HAYNES, 

0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1=12001000170119 

Date: 2016.02.12 06:58:34 -05'00'
PDP April through June 2016 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 2 

Technical Advisory Group: Members of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) are 

Dannis Tamplin (Presiding Member, Texas), Sarva Gunjur (California), Karen Stephani 

(New York), and Lida Ogg (Ohio). Dannis Tampling serves as the Presiding Member of 

the TAG.

E. PDP Fiscal Year 2016 Proficiency Testing Program: The PDP FY2016

Proficiency Testing (PT) program schedule (v 1.3) is posted on the PDP Extranet site.

Refer to SOPs PDP-ADMIN and PDP-QC for PT program requirements, reporting 

procedures, acceptability criteria, and requirements for potential follow-up actions.

F. Standard Operating Procedures:

SOPs Released February 1, 2016

x PDP-DATA: Data and Instumentation

x PDP-QC: Chemical Compounds, PDP Commodity Grouping, Method Validation, 

and Quality Control

SOPs to be Released April 1, 2016

x PDP-ADMIN: Administrative Procedures for the Pesticide Data Program

SOPs to be Released July 1, 2016

x PDP-LABOP: Sample Processing and Analysis

G. Electronic Transfer of Data

RDE Version Upgrades:

The current version (Build 16) of the web-based RDE System was installed in April 

2015. This version fixed the report/print problems that surfaced after the migration of 

AMS Web applications to a new server in February 2015. A new version (v4.1) of the 

electronic Sample Information Form (e-SIF) software, which works on Windows-based 

desktops, laptops, tablets, and netbooks, was developed and distributed in May 2015. 

This version eliminated the requirement for entering “N/A” values in several fields for 

not-collected samples.

The Monitoring Programs Division (MPD) staff is currently developing a new, 

distributed RDE application that will be built in MS-Access and installed at each 

participating laboratory. This system will replace the Web-based RDE system used by 

participating laboratories. The Web-RDE system uses outdated software components 

that are no longer supported and does not allow easy fixes or modifications. 

The new RDE system will allow easy implementation of changes to table structures to 

expand field sizes, add new fields, or even add new data tables, which the existing WebRDE restricts because of registration problems with the separate .DLL components that 

handle the data import process. Compatibility and security issues with the web browser 

environment will also be eliminated, such as problems with generating/displaying reports 
PDP April through June 2016 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 3 

in Web-RDE and importing files using the Java runtime applet. The local database will 

give labs access to data entered so that ad-hoc queries or customized reports can be run 

for State-required production reports. Transfer of completed datasets will be handled by 

e-mail or posting to the PDP Extranet site. This distributed RDE system will allow 

laboratories to continue PDP data entry, review, and reporting activities when USDA 

Web resources are shut down. MPD expects the new, distributed RDE system to be 

ready for deployment by the end of 2016. A pilot project will be conducted with two or 

three labs using the new RDE system by October 2016. An upgrade to the RDE e-SIF 

system (V5.0), to capture new and larger field entries is expected to be ready ahead of the 

lab RDE system.

H. Presumptive Tolerance Violation Reporting

Data for Presumptive Tolerance Violations (PTVs) are communicated to FDA and EPA 

on a monthly basis. FDA utilizes the PTV reports in choosing commodities that require 

extra sampling. EPA uses the data for dietary risk assessments and pesticide 

reregistration decisions. MPD is also providing the data to USDA’s Office of Pest 

Management Policy (OPMP) for communication to grower groups, the Foreign 

Agricultural Service (FAS) to assist in facilitating the export of domestic commodities,

and the National Organic Program (NOP) to inform them of any potential PTVs detected 

on claimed organic samples. PDP States may request a copy of the monthly PTV report 

by contacting MPD.

An expanded tolerance table was issued on July 9, 2015 containing tolerances for all 

commodities in the program at that time. The next tolerance table is expected to be issued 

in February 2016 and will include the commodities that entered the program in October 

2015, January 2016, and April 2016.

II. PROGRAM SAMPLING AND TESTING UPDATES

A. Sampling Changes and Rotations: Shipping charts are distributed quarterly to 

Sampling Managers by MPD. A draft Shipping Chart for the 2nd quarter of calendar year

2016 is attached to this document. Actual shipping dates and fact sheets will be sent 

under separate cover with the final version of the Shipping Chart.

Sampling Deletions

Cherry collection ends March 31, 2016.

Sampling Additions

Sweet potatoes will be added April 1, 2016. Sweet potatoes will remain in the program 

for two years. All samples will be shipped to the Michigan (MI1) laboratory. Refer to the 

current commodity fact sheet for sample selection, packaging, and shipping guidelines.
PDP April through June 2016 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 4 

Eggs will be added April 1, 2016 and will be sampled through August 31, 2016 for a total 

of 300 samples. All eggs will be shipped to AMS’ National Science Laboratory 

(NSL/US2). Refer to the current commodity fact sheet for sample selection, packaging, 

and shipping guidelines. 

Sampling Changes

Green beans will continue to be sampled through September 30, 2016.

Sampling Continuations

Apples, cucumbers, grapefruit, grapes, green beans, lettuce, milk, oranges, pears, 

potatoes, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes continue to be sampled. Sampling of 

cherries ends March 31, 2016.

PDP Sampling Commodity Counts

October 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015 = 14 commodities

x Remove sweet corn

x Add grapefruit

January 1, 2016 through March 31, 2016 = 14 commodities

x Remove nectarines

x Add milk

April 1, 2016 through June 30, 2016 = 15 commodities

x Remove cherries

x Add sweet potatoes

x Add eggs

B. Testing Deletions and Changes:

Testing Deletions

Cherry collection ends March 31, 2016. This ends multi-residue testing of nectarines by 

the Michigan (MI1) laboratory.

Testing Additions

Sweet potatoes will be added April 1, 2016. Sweet potatoes will remain in the program 

for two years. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the Michigan (MI1) laboratory.
PDP April through June 2016 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 5 

Commodity specific requirements regarding analytes of interest are listed in the 

memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet site.

Eggs will be added April 1, 2016 and will be sampled and tested through August 31, 

2016 for a total of 300 samples. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the AMS

National Science Laboratory (NSL/US2). Commodity specific requirements regarding 

analytes of interest are listed in the memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet site.

Testing Changes

Green beans will continue to be sampled through September 30, 2016.

Testing Continuations

Apples, cucumbers, grapefruit, grapes, green beans, lettuce, milk, oranges, pears, 

potatoes, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes continue to be tested. Sampling and 

testing of cherries ends March 31, 2016.

C. Web Site for PDP Information:

For Pesticide Data Program information check out our Internet Web Site:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/pdp

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