New Year, New Labeling Requirements for Pyrethroid Pesticides
We’d like to first wish you a Happy New Year and thank you again for your interest in staying abreast of issues related to pyrethroid pesticides and how proposed labeling requirements will impact you and your business.
Secondly, since we first launched the www.pwg2pmp.com web site several months ago, the Pyrethroid Working Group (PWG) has received a phenomenal response from pest management professionals around the nation. You are one of the several hundred pest control operators who have signed up for our alerts.
What is critical for you to understand is that changes are being ushered in at two distinct levels in 2012:
Federal: First, at the federal level, the U.S. EPA has required that new labels be used once existing product inventory has sold out. The new labels are expected to start showing up in the next several months, though some could take longer. So be sure to always read your labels, as the application directions may have changed or will in the near future.
California: Second, in California, the state’s regulations are intended to be more immediate and across the board. They will supersede the labeling instructions for how pest control operators must apply non-agricultural synthetic pyrethroid pesticides.
The proposed California regulations closely mirror the federal EPA in that they modify the permissible ways of applying residential outdoor surface and space sprays (with the exception of fogging devices). The goal is simple – for non-ag commercial users to take steps that will reduce or eliminate the presence of pyrethroid pesticides from urban waterways.
As per our last alert, the CA Department of Pesticide Regulation posted a notice of proposed rulemaking on October 28, 2011. Various stakeholder groups submitted extensive feedback during the comment period (the comments are not posted on the CDPR website), which closed in December. DPR is now reviewing those comments and may make changes based on them.
Because there were extensive comments, it is possible that CA DPR will make changes to their proposal and they may open a second comment period. If not, and if there is no second comment period, then the proposed regulations will go to the California OAL (Office of Administrative Law) for review and approval. We will alert you as soon as we have concrete information on what this next step is and when it will take place.
Stay tuned!