Science & Technology 1400 Independence Ave, SW 

Monitoring Programs Division Room 0611, Stop 0276 

Washington, DC 20250 

February 15, 2018

TO: See Distribution List

Digitally signed by

FROM: Diana Haynes DIANA DIANA HAYNES 

Date: 2018.02.15 08:48:11 Director, Monitoring Programs Division HAYNES -05'00' 

SUBJECT: Program Plan, April 2018 through June 2018 – Pesticide Data Program,

Version 1.0

This Program Plan serves as the current Statement of Work for the period April 2018 

through June 2018 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 2016 PDP Annual Summary was released February 8, 2018. Printed copies will be

mailed late Spring/early Summer 2018.

B. Cooperative Agreements/Financial:

The Federal government is operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) through March

23, 2018. All States have been issued interim Cooperative Agreements for fiscal year

(FY) 2018. Full agreements will be issued once a final budget is passed. Final 270s for

FY 2017 for States operating on the calendar year are due no later than March 31, 2018,

fo authorized charges that occurred in FY17.

C. Program Meetings:

PDP Federal/State Meeting: The PDP 2018 Federal/State Meeting will be held

February 20-22, 2018 in Crystal City, Virginia. Attendees will include PDP

Administrative Managers, Sampling Managers, Technical Program Managers, and 

Quality Assurance Officers as well as representatives from USDA, EPA, FDA, and 

industry.

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D. Advisory Committees:

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

Saeed Akhtar (New York), Don Gallegos (Colorado), and Nathan Chambers

(Washington). Saeed Akhtar serves as the Presiding Member of the SAG.

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

Karen Stephani (New York), Gail Parker (Florida), and Hugh Robinson (Texas). Karen 

Stephani serves as the Presiding Member of the TAG.

E. PDP Fiscal Year 2018 Proficiency Testing Program: The PDP FY2018

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 February 1, 2018

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

Validation and Quality Control

SOPs to be Released April 1, 2018

x PDP-DATA: Data and Instrumentation

SOPs to be Released July 1, 2018

x PDP-LABOP: Sample Processing and Analysis

x PDP-SAMP: Sampling Procedures for PDP

G. Electronic Transfer of Data

RDE Version Upgrades:

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

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

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

resources are shut down. The target completion date for the new, local RDE system is 

April 2018. The target retirement date for the Web-RDE system is June 2018. 

An upgrade to the RDE e-SIF system (V5.0) was developed and distributed to State

Sampling Managers in October 2016. The new version captures the package/container 

type separate from the commodity type, accepts larger entries in text fields like the Lot#

and facility name, and eliminates the postharvest fungicide labeling entry. The e-SIF

Clearinghouse system at MPD was modified to process incoming e-SIFs in both the old

(V4.1) and new (V5.0) formats. All e-SIFs received in the new (V5.0) format are being 

rolled-back to the old (V4.1) format when the e-SIF text files are generated for import to

Web-RDE and delivery to labs. Once a lab is ready to use the new distributed RDE

application, e-SIFs in the new (V5.0) format will be sent. Sample data that were left off

the rolled-back e-SIF will be restored when the group/set holding the sample is uploaded

from RDE into the central PDP calendar-year database at MPD. All State samplers were 

required to have RDE e-SIF V5.0 installed for use by July 2017. Having all samplers

using V5.0 makes the data review process at the receiving labs easier and faster.

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 updated tolerance table was issued on January 31, 2018 containing tolerances for all

commodities in the program at this time including those that entered the program in

October 2017, January 2018 and April 2018. The table shows tolerances (and FDA action 

levels for organochlorines) for pesticides on all current and upcoming PDP commodities. 

With almost 700 pesticides and metabolites, there is information for over 10,000

pesticide/commodity pairings. This table includes permanent, interim, regional, and

section 18 emergency tolerances as stated in the electronic Code of Federal Regulations 

(eCFR) or the Informa Agrow Pesticide Chemical News Guide (PCNG), online version. 

Blank spaces in the table indicate that no tolerance is established or referenced in the 

PCNG or the eCFR, part 40, section 180.

II. PROGRAM SAMPLING AND TESTING UPDATES

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

Sampling Managers by MPD. The Draft shipping Chart for the 2nd quarter of the calendar 

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year 2018 is attached to this document. Actual shipping dates and fact sheets will be

issued under separate cover.

Sampling Deletions 

Sweet potato collection ends March 31, 2018. 

Sampling Additions 

Kiwis will be added April 1, 2018. Kiwis 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. 

Sampling Changes 

Cranberry collection rotates from fresh/frozen to canned April 1, 2018. 

Sampling Continuations 

Asparagus, cabbage, garbanzo beans (canned), green onions, kale, mangoes, olives,

peaches (canned), plums/prunes (dried), raisins, snap peas, and wheat flour continue 

to be sampled.

PDP Sampling Commodity Counts 

October 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 = 14 commodities 

x Remove applesauce, grapefruit, and tomatoes (canned)

x Add garbanzo beans (canned), mangoes, and plums/prunes (dried)

January 1, 2018 through March 31, 2018 = 14 commodities 

x Remove bottled water, milk, onions, and pineapple (canned)

x Add green onions, peaches (canned), raisins, and wheat flour

April 1, 2018 through June 30, 2018 = 14 commodities 

x Remove sweet potatoes

x Add kiwis

B. Testing Deletions and Changes:

Testing Deletions 

Sweet potato collection ends March 31, 2018. This ends multi-residue testing of sweet

potatoes by the Michigan (MI1) laboratory.

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Testing Additions 

Kiwis will be added April 1, 2018. Kiwis will remain in the program for two years.

Multi-residue testing will be performed by the Michigan (MI1) laboratory. Commodity

specific requirements regarding analytes of interst are listed in the memorandum posted 

to the PDP Extranet site. 

Testing Continuations 

Asparagus, cabbage, cranberries, garbanzo beans (canned), green onions, kale,

mangoes, olives, peaches (canned), plums/prunes (dried), raisins, snap peas, and

wheat flour continue to be sampled and tested.

C. Web Site for PDP Information:

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

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

Attachment

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