New regulations adopted by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) further restricting pesticide use near schools went into effect on Jan. 1. The regulations impact about 4,100 public K-12 schools and licensed child day care facilities in California, including 50 in Santa Barbara County, and nearly 2,500 growers statewide.
The rules ban California farmers with crops within a quarter mile of schools and day cares from using various pesticide application techniques—including air blasters, sprinklers, dusts, and powders—from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Pesticide application is allowed when school and day care grounds are closed, but the DPR’s regulations say fumigants must be applied at least 36 hours before schools and day care facilities open.
Growers are also required to provide the county agricultural commissioner and neighboring school or day care administrators with annual written reports on which pesticides will be used from July 1 of that year through June 30 of the next. If growers need to use a fumigant not included in the annual report, the commissioner and school sites must be informed at least 48 hours prior to the fumigant’s application.
Violators could face fines of up to $5,000, according to the DPR.
The DPR announced in November the adoption of the restrictions, which came after two years of public outreach regarding the issue and included three formal hearings and 15 public workshops in five locations.
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Staff Writer Kasey Bubnash compiled this week’s School Scene. Send information to the Sun via mail, fax, or email at mail@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 4-11, 2018.
