Rules regulating pesticide spraying vary widely by state

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has spent the past decade considering adding warnings to herbicide product labels against applying the chemicals in ways that can result in drift, but has yet to mandate the change.

The federal government regulates herbicides under the 1947 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. Initially administered by the Department of Agriculture, the law focused on the effectiveness of new chemicals that promised to make life easier by killing weeds and insects.

In 1972, the EPA took over enforcement and shifted the focus to guarding human health and the environment. The EPA tries to do that by requiring labels that tell how to use the chemicals.

The agency relies on users to follow label instructions.

Spray drift has long been a sore point. Any stray wind can push spray droplets away from their target. Also, some herbicides that have landed where they were intended can volatize and become airborne as fine droplets that are blown off site.

Enforcement varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Also, some jurisdictions, such as California, have imposed additional restrictions.

In California, the state Department of Pesticide Regulation has delegated some enforcement authority to agricultural commissioners in each of its 58 counties.

Napa County, which has many vineyards, rarely allows aerial chemical spraying, said Dave Whitmer, Napa agricultural commissioner.

California has set stricter application limits than the EPA on some pesticides. For example, in California, 2,4-D is a restricted material. Growers must get a special permit to use it. In Napa County, it can only be used in the winter, when grapevines are dormant, Whitmer said.

Oregon sets no such seasonal limits on specific products, although wheat growers in Eastern Oregon voluntarily limit their herbicide use to avoid conflicts with grape growers.

Whitmer said California’s system gives counties the chance to make recommendations based on local conditions and to work with growers to solve problems before they turn into litigation.

"These are acknowledged to be hazardous materials. We know they’re toxic. We use them in the environment to have a designated effect, so it seems imperative that we do a good job of managing them,” he said.

On private timberlands in California, owners must get herbicide use permission from the state by submitting a timber harvest plan that’s similar to an environmental impact statement, said Mike Bacca, resource manager with CalFire, the agency that oversees private forestry practices. Plus, they must consult the county agriculture commissioner, he said.

California allows aerial sprays on forest clear-cuts, but they’re not common, he said.

California posts the timber harvests plans online for free viewing by the public.

In Oregon, those who want to know where and when herbicides will be used on forest clear-cuts must pay to have the information mailed to them by the Oregon Department of Forestry. For a $25 minimum annual fee, the department will send spray notification information on up to 3,200 acres of private forestland, with an additional $5 required for each additional 640 acres. Information for an entire district, such as Western Lane, which includes parts of Lane and Douglas counties, costs anywhere from $700 to $3,000, depending on the district.

In Washington state, forest owners must get permission from the Department of Natural Resources before aerial spraying.

In Oregon, forest owners don’t need permission before spraying, although they must file a notice with the state saying where and when they will spray, what they will use and precautions they will take to keep spray out of fish-bearing streams.

Washington and Oregon require those who believe their property has been hit by drift to file a notice with the state to preserve their right to sue. In Oregon, the complaint window is 60 days. In Washington, it’s 30 days.

Pesticide users must keep application records. In Washington and Oregon, the state doesn’t collect that information, but landowners must keep it on file, in Oregon for three years, in Washington for seven years.