The MDA is responsible for regulating pesticide, fertilizer, soil and plant amendment, and agricultural liming products with intentionally added PFAS. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is responsible for regulating all other products with intentionally added PFAS.
Any product sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale in Minnesota that is currently regulated or registered by the MDA must be reported. This includes pesticides, fertilizers, specialty fertilizers, soil amendments, plant amendments, and agricultural liming materials. Packaging for these products is not included but must be reported to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency should it contain intentionally added PFAS.
The registrant or manufacturer of a product sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale in the State of Minnesota that contains intentionally added PFAS is required to report.
The statute defines manufacturer as “a guarantor, registrant, distributor, producer, or other person that creates or produces a product or whose brand name is affixed to the product. In the case of a product imported into the United States, manufacturer includes the importer or first domestic distributor of the product if the person that manufactured or assembled the product or whose brand name is affixed to the product does not have a presence in the United States.“
If more than one entity meets the definition of manufacturer, the Department will consider the party who controls the formulation of the product and its PFAS content to be the manufacturer.
Registration will be cancelled for any pesticide products containing intentionally added PFAS from the 11 product categories (carpets or rugs, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, fabric treatments, juvenile products, menstruation products, textile furnishings, ski wax, and upholstered furniture) beginning January 1, 2026. If a registrant would like their products to be evaluated for a Currently Unavoidable Use (CUU) determination, the MDA requests they provide the necessary information well in advance of that time (preferably 6 months in advance). The products will be evaluated in the order the request for CUU determination is received.
All other pesticides products as well as fertilizers, soil and plant amendments, and agricultural liming products are required to annually provide a statement that their product does not contain intentionally added PFAS beginning in 2026.
According to the new legislation: Unless the commissioner of Agriculture determines that the use of intentionally added PFAS is a currently unavoidable use the MDA is directed to:
- not register a cleaning product that contains intentionally added PFAS beginning January 1, 2026; and
- not register any pesticide product, fertilizer, soil and plant amendment, or agricultural liming product that contains intentionally added PFAS beginning January 1, 2032.
The MDA will allow pesticide registrants to use the usual discontinuation process (Minn. Stat. 18B.26 Subd. 6) for products containing intentionally added PFAS provided the process is initiated with enough time for the product to be in full cancellation status by the appropriate deadline. If no information is submitted for products with intentionally added PFAS they will go into cancellation status upon reaching the applicable timeline.
In accordance with the Pesticide Registration Law (Minn. Stat. 18B.26 subd 1(c)), applicators who purchase products, which have had their state registration cancelled, can continue to use these products in accordance with label directions for a period of two years following the cancellation.
To the extent possible, the MDA will use jointly (with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) determined criteria to determine if the use of intentionally added PFAS in pesticide and fertilizer products is currently unavoidable. However, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency(MPCA) will follow rulemaking on currently unavoidable use which may lead to MPCA having different criteria when rulemaking is complete (goal: early 2026). After the MDA makes a determination, the agency may consult with the MPCA on the potential continued use of certain products.
An evaluation of currently unavoidable use will be conducted only if registrants/product manufacturers submit the necessary information and request the MDA to assess their product for unavoidable use.
Information can be emailed to Pesticide.Registration.MDA@state.mn.us or Fertilizer.Registration.MDA@state.mn.us or mailed to the MDA. The MDA is currently developing a secure electronic file transfer option and will post additional information as it becomes available.
Data submitted to the MDA is considered public data unless the registrant requests the data be considered Trade Secret (MN Stat. 18B.38 and 18C.405) and the Commissioner of Agriculture agrees the data qualifies for trade secret protection. Data contained in renewals is public under Minnesota law unless it qualifies for protection under the Pesticide Registration Law (Minn. Stat. § 18B.38) or other applicable state or federal law. If you have any questions about this process, please contact the MDA
Records such as registration documentation or sales data forms are retained for 6 years and automatically purged after that time. Data such as active ingredient content, SDS, and PFAS content is retained for the full lifecycle of the product.
