Science & Technology 1400 Independence Ave, SW

Monitoring Programs Division Room 0611, Stop 0276

Washington, DC 20250

August 14, 2015

TO: See Distribution List

FROM: Diana Haynes

Director, Monitoring Programs Division

SUBJECT: Program Plan (October through December 2015) – Pesticide Data 

Program, Version 1.0

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

through December 2015 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 is in the process of being drafted and is anticipated to be 

released before the end of the calendar year.

B. Cooperative Agreements/Financial:

The fiscal year (FY) ends on September 30, 2015 for States with FY funding. Ensure all 

FY15 expenses have been obligated on or prior to this date. Final 270s are due no later 

than December 31, 2015.

C. Program Meetings:

PDP Federal/State Meeting: A PDP Federal/State Meeting was held April 21-23, 2015,

in Albany, New York. The meeting focused on program planning, administrative, 

sampling, technical, and quality assurance issues. Attendees included PDP 

Administrative Managers, Sampling Managers, Technical Program Managers, and 

Quality Assurance Officers as well as representatives from the New York Department of 

Agriculture and Markets, USDA, and EPA.

A PDP Federal/State Meeting is being planned for Spring 2016 in Sacramento, 

California. Attendees are anticipated to 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, USDA, EPA,

and FDA.

PDP October through December 2015 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 1 

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: 2015.08.14 08:03:44 -04'00'
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.

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 2015 Proficiency Testing Program: The PDP FY2016

Proficiency Testing (PT) program schedule (v 1.0) 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 July 1, 2015

x PDP-LABOP: Sample Processing and Analysis 

SOPs to be Released October 1, 2015

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

and Quality Control

SOPs to be Released January 1, 2016

x PDP-DATA: Data and Instumentation

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 has started development of 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 

PDP October through December 2015 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 2 
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 

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

would give labs access to data entered so that ad-hoc queries or customized reports could 

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

handled by e-mail or posting to the PDP Extranet site. A 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 during 2016. A pilot project will be conducted with 2 or 3 labs 

using the new RDE system by the end of 2015. 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.

RDE Supporting Applications:

An updated version (v2) of the of the stand-alone LIMS-to-RDE Import Checker app was 

developed and made available for download from the PDP Extranet site in July 2015. 

This version includes some new data checks that have always been done during end-ofyear PDP Database reconciliation, such as a check for entered results when the sample 

was reported as not collected or not analyzed and a check for entered concentration levels 

that are less than the reported LODs.

MPD is currently developing a stand-alone app that can be used by State Sampling 

Managers to import all the e-SIF text files received from samplers into an MS-Access 

database so that the managers can easily browse, sort, query, and generate summary 

reports for the e-SIF records. The new app is expected to be ready for release by the end 

of August 2015.

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.

PDP October through December 2015 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 3 
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 January 2016 and will include the commodities that entered the program in October 

2015 and January 2016. Additionally, tolerances for the April 2016 replacement 

commodity will be included if the commodity is known at that time.

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 4th quarter of calendar year

2015 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

Peanut butter collection ends August 31, 2015.

Sweet corn collection ends September 30, 2015.

Sampling Additions

Grapefruit will be added October 1, 2015. Grapefruit will remain in the program for 

two years. Samples will be shipped to the Califlornia (CA1) and Texas (TX1) 

laboratories. Refer to the current commodity fact sheet for sample selection, packaging, 

and shipping guidelines.

Sampling Changes

Cherries will continue to be sampled through March 31, 2016.

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

Nectarines continue to be sampled, with all samples being sent to the California (CA1) 

laboratory.

Sampling Continuations

Apples, cherries, cucumbers, grapes, green beans, lettuce, oranges, pears, potatoes, 

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

ends December 31, 2015.

PDP Sampling Commodity Counts

July 1, 2015 through August 31, 2015 = 15 commodities

x Remove peaches and watermelon

PDP October through December 2015 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 4 
x Add cucumbers and lettuce

September 1, 2015 through September 30, 2015 = 14 commodities

x Remove peanut butter

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

x Remove sweet corn

x Add grapefruit

B. Testing Deletions and Changes:

Testing Deletions

Peanut butter collection ends August 31, 2015. This ends multi-residue testing of 

peanut butter by the AMS National Science Laboratory (US2).

Sweet corn collection ends September 30, 2015. This ends multi-residue testing of sweet 

corn by the California (CA1) and Texas (TX1) laboratories.

Testing Additions

Grapefruit will be added October 1, 2015. Grapefruit will remain in the program for 

two years. Multi-residue testing will be performed by the California (CA1) and Texas 

(TX1) laboratories. Commodity specific requirements regarding analytes of interest are 

listed in the memorandum posted to the PDP Extranet site.

Testing Changes

Cherries will continue to be sampled through March 31, 2016.

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

Nectarines continue to be sampled, with all samples being sent to the California (CA1) 

laboratory.

Testing Continuations

Apples, cherries, cucumbers, grapes, green beans, lettuce, oranges, pears, potatoes, 

spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes continue to be tested. Sampling and testing of 

nectarines ends December 31, 2015.

PDP October through December 2015 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 5 
C. Web Site for PDP Information:

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

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

Attachment

PDP October through December 2015 Program Plan, v1.0 Page 6