Bill Text

Pesticide Reduction and Alternatives to Pesticides for Pest Management Act

An Act Concerning the Implementation of Reduction of Pesticide Use Or Alternatives to Pesticides for Pest Management on all State Property.

Summary: This Act establishes Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques for government agency building and property care. This Act also establishes an IPM program at an extension office for education and assistance to the public and the agricultural community with IPM. This Act reduces government pesticide use and establishes a tracking system for pesticide use and reduction.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of <insert your state name here>:

Section 1. Short Title.

This Act shall be known as the “Pesticide Reduction and IPM Act.”

Section 2. Findings.

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(A) It is the responsibility of state agencies providing services to the public to also provide an environment as safe as possible to those using these services as well as safe natural resources to all the citizens of this state.

(B) According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Children’s Health Protection, children are at greater risk of pesticide exposure than most adults. Pound for pound of body weight, children not only breathe more, eat more, and have a more rapid metabolism than adults, but they also play on the floor and lawn where pesticides are commonly applied. Children have more frequent hand-to-mouth contact as well.

(C) Integrated Pest Management is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on common sense practices, and uses current comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment; this information, in combination with available pest control methods is used to prevent and manage pest damage with the least hazard to people, property, and the environment by economical means.

(D) In 1996, the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to require that all federal agencies use IPM and promote its use by contractors and others with whom the agency deals. Specifically, FIFRA 7 U.S.C. § 136r-1 requires that: “Federal agencies shall use Integrated Pest Management techniques in carrying out pest management activities and shall promote Integrated Pest Management through procurement and regulatory policies, and other activities.”; and

(E) Section 136r-1 of FIFRA describes IPM as “a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health and environmental risks.”

Section 3. Definitions.

(A) “Aesthetic use” means pesticide applications made solely for cosmetic reasons rather than for public safety or improved plant or animal health.

(B) “Agency” means any state agency; municipal corporation; public authority; college, as that term is defined in the education law; railroad, telegraph and telephone, pipeline, gas, electric, gas and electric corporation, departments, or offices who are under the jurisdiction or receive funding from the state of <insert your state’s name here>.

(C) “Calendar-based” means applications of pesticides that are made on a monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly basis rather than when a need is demonstrated and other non-pesticide-based pest control methods have failed.

(D) “Cultural practices” means manipulating the environment to avoid serious pest damage. Cultural practice includes, but is not limited to, the following: site selection and preparation, sanitation, pest free planting stock, crop rotation, trap cropping, timing of planting or harvest, healthy crop maintenance, and habitat manipulation.

(E) “Economic threshold” means the justification of each pesticide application (or other pest control treatment) on the basis that the expected resultant increase in crop yield will bring greater economic return than the cost of application.

(F) “Field scouting” means the process and systematic procedure of collecting soil and pest data from fields in order to make the most appropriate decisions for IPM.

(G) “Integrated Pest Management” or “IPM” means a coordinated decision-making and action process that uses ecologically-sensitive, non-chemical, or least-toxic pest control methods and preventative strategies in an environmentally and economically sound manner to meet agency pest management objectives. The elements of Integrated Pest Management include:

(1) Preventing pest problems;

(2) Monitoring for the presence of pests and pest damage;

(3) Establishing the density of the pest population that can be tolerated or correlated with a damage level sufficient to warrant treatment of the problem based on health, public safety, or economic thresholds;

(4) Treating pest problems to reduce populations below those levels established by damage thresholds using strategies that may include biological, cultural, mechanical, physical, and least-toxic chemical control methods and that shall consider human health, ecological impact, feasibility, and cost effectiveness; and

(5) Evaluating the effects and efficacy of pest treatments.

(H) “Limited-use” means pesticides that are acceptable for use, but under only certain circumstances, and when use is restricted to specified targets, applied only to combat certain pests, or in emergencies as specified by the Department of Agriculture <or your state’s equivalent>. Limited-use pesticides are also subject to annual review by the state Integrated Pest Management program, state agency Integrated Pest Management coordinators, or by any school district or higher education institution’s Integrated Pest Management coordinator. Limited-use pesticides will appear on the Department of Agriculture’s <or your state’s equivalent> “Limited-Use List of Pesticides.”

(I) “Physical control” means the removal of weeds through either manual or hand-held tool removal methods.

(J) “Pest” means any vertebrate or invertebrate animal, pathogen, fungi, parasitic plant, weed (unwanted plant), or similar or allied organism which can cause disease or damage to crops, trees, shrubs, grasses or other plants, humans, animals, or property.

(K) “Pesticide” means any substance or mixture of substances labeled, designed, or intended for or capable of use in preventing, destroying, repelling, sterilizing, or mitigating any insects, rodents, nematodes, predatory animals, fungi, weeds, and other forms of plant or animal life or viruses, except viruses on or in a living human or other animals. “Pesticide” shall also include any substance or mixture of substances labeled, designed, or intended for use as a defoliant, desiccant, or plant regulator.

Section 4. Policy.

(A) State Department of Agriculture, including the control of noxious weeds and fungi;

(B) State Department of Fish and Wildlife;

(C) State Department of Transportation;

(D) State Parks and Recreation Department;

(E) State Forestry Department;

(F) State Department of Corrections;

(G) State Department of Administrative Services;

(H) Division of State Lands;

(I) State Department of Environmental Quality;

(J) State Department of Health; and

(K) State Department of Education, and all public schools, including each state institution for higher education, and for the school’s or institution’s own building and grounds maintenance.

Section 5. Biological, Mechanical, Physical, and Other Alternative Pest Control Methods.

To evaluate and address existing pest problems or problems that may develop in spite of prevention techniques, all state departments, schools, and institutions shall follow the following approach:

(A) Routinely monitor sites for optimal health and sanitation conditions;

(B) Routinely monitor populations of potential pests and their natural enemies to determine if and when control is needed;

(C) Establish threshold levels of pests below which the population does not require control; and

(D) Use physical, mechanical, biological, and other alternative methods to keep pest numbers low enough to prevent intolerable damage or annoyance.

Section 6. Agencies to Provide Personnel Training; Appointment of Coordinators; Duties.

(A) Each state agency or institution specified in this Act shall provide Integrated Pest Management training for employees responsible for pest management.

(B) Effective 180 days after the passage of this Act, each state agency, school district, or higher educational institution listed in this Act shall designate an Integrated Pest Management coordinator. The Integrated Pest Management coordinator shall manage the Integrated Pest Management program of the agency, school district, or institution. This person is responsible for:

(1) Educating department staff about the policy;

(2) Ensuring that her/his department is achieving the goals set forth by the department to comply with this policy;

(3) Assuring tracking of all pest management activities conducted or contracted by the department; and

(4) Actively participating in the review of the limited-use list as required in Section 10 of this Act.

Section 7. Actions Allowed by Local Authorities of Counties, Cities, Towns, and Other Municipalities.

Nothing shall limit any county, city, town, or other municipality to adopt a more prohibitive or restrictive pesticide use law than the provisions in this Act.

Section 8. Department Consideration of Concerns Raised by Counties, Cities, Towns, and Other Municipalities.

In administering this Act, the Department of Agriculture <or insert your state’s equivalent> shall consider any concern raised by a county, city, town, or other municipality of the state regarding the regulation of, reduction, and alternatives to pesticide use.

Section 9. Establishment of an Integrated Pest Management Program.

(A) An Integrated Pest Management program shall be established for the purposes of managing insects, diseases, nematodes, weeds, fungi, and rodents. Such program shall operate in conjunction with an already-established university extension office <or equivalent> in an effort to best educate and assist the public and the agricultural industry. Such program shall include, but not be limited to, programs of instruction, and research and development, the purpose of which is to educate the public about Integrated Pest Management and to integrate programs of:

(1) Crop management and cultural practices;

(2) Field scouting and weather observation;

(3) Economic thresholds;

(4) Least-toxic chemical and biological control; and

(5) Physical control.

(B) Such program shall be developed and conducted in such a manner to encourage:

(1) Expanded research on biological and cultural pest management technologies, and crop and pest resistance technologies;

(2) Use of sampling methods, economic thresholds, monitoring technology, pest forecasting, and the effects of weather on pest and crop parameters;

(3) Development of computer programs and computerized information systems for farmers and extension agents;

(4) Delivery of current and new Integrated Pest Management technology to the agricultural industry through cooperative extension offices;

(5) Minimized levels of pesticides in feed, food, and the environment; and

(6) Minimized economic losses due to crop, animal, and stored-grain pests.

(C) Such program shall identify and make application for all possible funding sources in addition to those offered by the state.

Section 10. Pesticide Product Use.

(A) In order to use a pesticide product, a state department will document its need to
address a specific pest problem by first considering prevention and alternatives to pesticides. This documentation shall be made available to the public. Pesticide products may only be used if no economically feasible or effective alternative is available.

(B) Within one year of the passage of this Act, the state of <insert your state’s name>
will have reduced pesticide use by at least 35%. In the second year, use will be reduced an additional 25%; in the three years following, use will be reduced an additional 15%, 10%, and 5%, respectively. Pesticide use will be measured by quantity of the ready-to-use pesticide product administered or applied. The Department of Agriculture <or insert your state’s equivalent> will monitor and track pesticide reduction goals.

(C) The Department of Health <or insert your state’s equivalent> shall review all pesticides registered within the state to determine whether these pesticides are likely to be toxic to humans and shall promulgate a list of such pesticides that will be called the “Limited-Use List of Pesticides.” At a minimum, this list shall include all known and suspected carcinogens, all Toxicity Category II of EPA-registered pesticides, neurotoxic pesticides, and pesticides that cause developmental toxicity.

(D) The Department of Health <or insert your state’s equivalent> shall:

(1) Conduct an annual review of the limited-use list. This list is to be included in the annual use list of pesticide products by the state and therefore is also subject to reduction goals.

(2) Review all pesticides registered within the previous year for consideration of continued use based on current technologies and research regarding individual pesticide toxicity. Use of certain pesticides no longer found to be acceptable shall be subject to immediate termination or placed on a limited-use list subject to incremental reduction, as appropriate for those pesticides described for Toxicity Category I pesticides pursuant to this Act.

(E) Upon passage of this Act:

(1) Pesticide products listed on the “Limited-Use List of Pesticides” may be used only when the state department has first documented its need to address a specific pest problem by considering prevention and alternatives to pesticides. This documentation shall be made available to the public. Pesticide products on the “Limited-Use List of Pesticides” may only be used if no economically feasible or effective alternative is available;

(2) All aesthetic uses of pesticides will end immediately;

(3) All use of Toxicity Category I of EPA-registered pesticides will end immediately;

(4) All calendar-based pesticide product applications will end immediately;

(5) No pesticides will be applied within at least 100 feet (for ground applications) and 200 feet (for aerial applications) of a lake, stream, wetland, groundwater recharge area, or storm drain.

Section 11. Exemptions.

(A) The restrictions on pesticide product use required by this Act shall not apply to the application of anti-microbial pesticides and anti-microbial products as defined by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in 7 U.S.C. Section 136 (mm) and 136q (h)(2).

(B) Agencies may obtain authorization from the state to apply pesticides without considering and documenting preventative measures and other alternatives to pesticides in the event of a public health or environmental emergency. Signs posted in the event of an emergency shall be posted at the time of application and remain posted four days following the application, pursuant to this Act.

Section 12. Development of School Integrated Pest Management Policy.

(A) No later than 18 months after the effective date of this Act, the Integrated Pest Management coordinator of each school district or higher educational institution shall compile a notice for the Integrated Pest Management policy of the school. The notice shall include:

(1) The Integrated Pest Management policy of the school or school district;

(2) A list of any pesticide that is in use or that has been used in the last 12 months on school property;

(3) The quantities of active pesticide ingredients used in the last 12 months on school property;

(4) The name, address, and telephone number of the Integrated Pest Management coordinator of the school or school district;

(5) A statement that the Integrated Pest Management coordinator maintains the product label and material safety data sheet of each pesticide that may be used on school property; that the label and data sheet are available for review by parents, guardians, staff members, or students attending the school; and, that the Integrated Pest Management coordinator is available to parents, guardians, students, and staff members for information and comment;

(6) The time and place of any meetings that will be held to adopt the school Integrated Pest Management policy; and

(7) The following statement:

“As part of a school pest management plan, <insert school name> may use pesticides to control pests. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) <or insert your state’s equivalent> register pesticides to determine that the use of a pesticide in accordance with instructions printed on the label does not pose an unreasonable risk to human health and the environment. Nevertheless, the EPA and DEQ cannot guarantee that registered pesticides do not pose any risk to human health; thus, unnecessary exposure to pesticides should be avoided. The EPA has issued the statement that where possible, persons who are potentially sensitive, such as pregnant women, infants and children, should avoid unnecessary pesticide exposure.”

(8) The school district IPM coordinator shall annually provide to all staff, students (of universities), and parents or guardians of pupils enrolled at a school site a written notification of the IPM as described in this Act.

If your state does not have a notification law, you may want to include the following notification language

[Optional] Section <insert applicable Section number>. Notification of Pesticide Application on School Sites.

(A) Visual Notification.

(1) The office of the school district IPM coordinator shall affix “warning signs,” to be placed within or along the perimeter of the area where any pesticide will be applied on a school site. Warning signs are to be placed so as to be clearly visible to persons immediately outside the perimeter of such property. Such warning signs shall be posted at least twelve inches above the ground, shall be at least four inches by five inches in size, and shall be attached to a stable supporting device. Warning signs should be posted so as to be clearly visible from potential access points including roads, sidewalks, driveways, doorways, alleys, and adjacent yards unless a fence, wall, hedge, or similar feature effectively prevents human access to the treated area from that direction.

(2) Warning signs shall contain the following language:

“WARNING! This notice is to inform you of a pending pesticide application to this property. You may wish to take precautions to minimize pesticide exposure to yourself, your pupils (if you are a school staff member responsible for supervising children), family members, pets, or family possessions. Further information about the product or products being applied, including any warnings that appear on the labels of such pesticide or pesticides that are pertinent to the protection of humans, animals, or the environment, can be obtained by contacting your school district IPM coordinator at <insert phone number of the office of the school district IPM coordinator> or by calling the National Pesticides Telecommunications Network at 1-800-858-7378 or the <insert your state’s public access number for environmental health>.

(3) All warning signs or notices shall also contain the following information:

(a) A description of the area of the pesticide application;

(b) The brand name or product name, or common chemical name; and, the federal Environmental Protection Agency registration number of each pesticide applied;

(c) The target pest;

(d) The date(s) of pesticide use;

(e) Words or phrases indicating the toxicity category of the pesticide product;

(f) The permissible re-entry time or date of the area treated; and

(g) The name and contact phone number for the agency or applicator responsible for the application.

(4) Signs shall be posted at least three days before application of the pesticide and remain posted at least four days after application of the pesticide.

(5) Signs shall be posted at every entry point where the pesticide is applied if the pesticide is applied in an enclosed area, and in highly visible locations around the perimeter of the area where the pesticide is applied if the pesticide is applied in an open area.

(6) If a person makes an application of a pesticide whose label prescribes a restricted entry interval, that person shall post a warning sign at each entrance to the treated area. Each warning sign shall be at least 8.5 inches by 11 inches, with the word “WARNING” clearly displayed in letters no less than one inch in height. The signs shall also include all the information required on the signs as described earlier in this Section. The person making the application shall post the warning sign before the application begins, and shall not remove it until the restricted entry interval expires.

(B) Written Notification.

(1) Prior to any application of pesticides to any school site, the office of the school district IPM coordinator must notify staff, students (of universities), and parents or guardians of pupils with all of the following:

(a) A written notice of pre-application information. Notices may be made available in Spanish or other languages as deemed necessary by the school district. The notice must be in at least a 12-point font and shall include:

(i) The date or dates on which the pesticide application will be made. The date or dates may be communicated orally, rather than in writing, if the requester customer agrees to oral notification;

(ii) Number of applications;

(iii) The brand name or product name, or common chemical name; and, the federal Environmental Protection Agency registration number of each pesticide applied;

(iv) A copy of the pesticide label for each pesticide that may be applied, or any warnings that appear on the label of pesticides to be applied that are pertinent to the protection of humans, animals, or the environment;

(v) Post–application precautions which the pesticide label requires of the customer. This information shall be provided in time for the customer to take the required precautions. For example, pesticide labels might require customers to observe post–application precautions such as restricted entry intervals; and

(vi) The school district IPM coordinator’s contact information.

Section 13. Effective Date.

Unless otherwise specified, all provisions within this Act shall become effective nine months following its passage.

Section 14. Severability.

If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Act, which can be given effect without regard to the invalid provision or application and, to this end, the provisions of this Act are severable.