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MICOP’s Camino a la Salud Indigenous farmworking leaders fought for a review committee to DPR’s pesticide notification system that includes residents from pesticide-impacted communities so the notification system can be improved and adjusted in the future and most recently urged them that the pesticide notification must consist of the exact location of the application.
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) sought public comment on a revised draft rule proposing the statewide system to inform the public about planned applications of highly hazardous pesticides, between July 2 through August 1, 2024, which MICOP Indigenous Comité de Salud attended a virtual hearing and delivered written public comments via email to DPR's Director, Julie Henderson.
Currently, the draft rule does not require the exact location of a pesticide application to be identified, only providing identification within a square mile. This has raised concerns among residents who want to know what is being used near their homes, schools, and workplaces.
The hearings and public comment period aimed to gather input on the proposed modifications to the notification regulation. These modifications, were made after an initial 70-day public comment period that began in November 2023 and included three regulatory hearings, included:
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The requirement for DPR to re-evaluate and review the system, including annually receive feedback from and provide a status update to the department's Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, the California Department of Food and Agriculture's State Board and the public until DPR issues a comprehensive report on the system three years after the regulation becomes effective.
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Clarifying the restricted material pesticides that are subject to the 24- and 48-hours reporting requirements.
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Clarifying that DPR will make publicly available pesticide product name(s) and active ingredient(s).
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Clarifying the effective date for the implementation of the system.
We strongly support the effort to provide Californians with advance notice of hazardous pesticide use. We urged DPR to make sure the new regulation is as effective as possible to ensure that impacted residents can protect themselves from harm. To truly be effective, the system must include the exact location of planned pesticide applications.
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