The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a mobile-friendly calculator designed to help pesticide applicators determine and document Endangered Species Act label mitigations. The tool, called the Pesticide App for Label Mitigations (PALM), guides users through the same mitigation “menu” found on EPA labels and bulletins, then generates a field-level summary that can be saved or printed for records.
PALM is intended for use at the field or management-unit level and mirrors EPA’s mitigation tables without requiring applicators to manually sort through them. After answering a series of questions, users receive the required spray-drift buffer distance or the number of runoff and erosion mitigation points, along with a list of practices that qualify.
Spray Drift Buffer Calculator
This sequence helps determine whether a buffer is required and what reduction options are available under the label. Users are asked if the product label references the EPA mitigation menu. If so, they enter the product and crop information, application type, boom height, droplet size, drift-reducing agents in the tank mix and whether managed areas exist downwind. The output is the buffer distance and any allowable reductions.
Runoff and Erosion Mitigation Calculator
This sequence calculates how many mitigation points are needed for a field or management unit and which practices can fulfill them. The EPA defines a management unit as a single, contiguous piece of land managed as one unit for a crop, which can be subdivided by crop type or by unique field features.
The runoff and erosion flow begins by identifying the field, product and crop. It screens for cases where mitigation points are not required, such as spot treatments covering fewer than 1,000 square feet or when a qualifying “managed area” exists within 1,000 feet down-gradient.
Examples of managed areas include agricultural fields, pastures, vegetated filter strips, grassed waterways, hedgerows, riparian zones, private forests, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) acres. Contained irrigation water sources, retention ponds and other runoff structures also qualify.
If mitigation is required, PALM walks users through a 12-step process to document label targets. Applicators input county and state information, slope and soil type, tillage and cover crop use, and conservation practices such as terraces, waterways and filter devices. Points are awarded for practices across three categories: in-field, field-adjacent and systems that capture runoff. Additional points are given for using less than the maximum labeled rate of a pesticide. A final summary lists total points and the practices credited.
Both calculators end with a printable summary of answers and results for record keeping.
EPA emphasizes that PALM is an aid for planning and documentation, not a substitute for following label directions or state regulations. Applicators are still responsible for meeting all requirements.
The tool is available at: epa.gov/pesticides/pesticide-app-label-mitigations
