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The PWG’s Pathway ID Study was recently submitted to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). The industry-funded study involved the application of pyrethroids in a simulated residential setting. The study’s results indicated that the proposed DPR regulations should have a significant impact in reducing runoff into storm drains and urban waterways.

The Pathway ID Study may be obtained with a request to DPR at either http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/public_r.htm orpublicrecords@cdpr.ca.gov.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has issued a Notice of Modifications to the text of the urban surface water regulations.

This was not unexpected given that EPA disagreed with DPR’s language which allowed treatment of surfaces during rainfall events, if the surfaces were protected from precipitation.  EPA felt that this language was less restrictive than the EPA required label changes, so DPR changed the language to allow treatment during rainfall events to the “underside of eaves.”

Other minor changes clarified exemptions for persons operating under NPDES permits (such as vector control agencies) and a change to the definition of crack and crevice treatment to remove what DPR sees as regulatory language from the definition.  Click here for Notice of Changes and Actual Text to read the latest documents.

NPMA Legislative Day

New labeling requirements for non-agricultural pyrethroid insecticides was a topic of great interest at this week’s National Pest Management Association (NPMA) Legislative Day in Washington D.C.

NPMA, industry speakers and EPA representatives presented an overview of the factors leading to these labeling requirements and proposed regulations in the state of California and the potential for similar rules to be adopted in other regions of the country.

PMPs expressed concern that many of these new restrictions would potentially nullify the effectiveness of their treatment, leaving customers with unacceptable results.  There are also concerns about interpretations and enforceability of this new labeling. These concerns were more fully discussed during the NPMA Government Affairs Committee meeting and a working sub-committee was formed to ensure that the nation’s pest management professionals will have a clear voice in the process of reviewing, refining and eventually adopting revised label language for pyrethroids.

Julie Spagnoli of FMC and Brad Chalk, Cheminova, are both members of the NPMA Government Affairs Committee as well as members of the communications committee for the PWG.  Their active involvement in both groups ensures a clear channel of communications between the two organizations.  This collaborative effort can greatly enhance the effectiveness of the PWG in their efforts to reach out to the professional pest management community.

Now Available: Stakeholder Comments to CA DPR

Based on comments the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has received, it is highly likely the department will be modifying its proposed regulations. This would trigger a new 15-day comment period once its new proposal is posted.

PWG has just obtained all stakeholder comments submitted to DPR and has posted them. Please click  here. Of additional interest and insight is this letter from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency to DPR.

In the meantime, we will continue to keep you updated as the process unfolds. Thanks again for your interest in this important issue.

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!