November 8, 2017

California Approves New Rules on Ag Pesticide Use Near Schools and Child Day Care Facilities

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) recently released new regulations that place additional restrictions on the agricultural use of pesticides. These new regulations apply to applications that are made within ¼ mile of public schools or child day care facilities

The restrictions apply Monday through Friday from the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and goes into effect on January 1, 2018. Applications will be restricted based upon the distance from the schoolsite, equipment used to make the application and pesticide being applied.

The DPR regulations also include an annual notification requirement which mandates that property owners of the land being treated must provide written notice to the school principal or child day care facility administrator, and the county agricultural commissioner. The notice must provide specific information as outlined in the regulation. The first set of annual notifications will be due on April 30, 2018, and will cover the period of July 1 through June 30 of the following year.

The regulations also include a provision that if a pesticide has not been included in the annual notification, the owner of the property must provide this information to the schoolsite and commissioner at least 48 hours prior to the application.

Growers are encouraged to contact their county agricultural commissioner for additional information and to have any specific implementation questions addressed. Details on the regulation can be found on the DPR website here