Wisconsin Pesticide Applicator Training Program Department of Agronomy / 1575 Linden Drive / Madison, WI 53706-1597

Phone: 608-262-7588 / Fax: 608-262-5217 / Email: PATprogram@mailplus.wisc.edu / Website: http://ipcm.wisc.edu/pat

An EEO/Affirmative Action employer, the University of Wisconsin-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA requirements.

LAWS AND REGULATIONS 3.3.2_Law_script.pdf Dec 16, 2016

Slide 1: Pesticides come under regulatory scrutiny from the time of their inception in the laboratory to their ultimate use in the field. Multiple federal and state agencies are involved in controlling their production, transportation, sale, use, and disposal. There are few compounds that receive such extensive regulatory overview as pesticides.

Slide 2: Many of us have used a table saw before. It is a tool used to cut wood. Use one of these incorrectly you can hurt yourself.

Slide 3: Pesticides are a tool used to control or inhibit pests. Use one of these incorrectly and you can not only hurt yourself, but you can hurt others.

Slide 4: The reason for these regulations is because pesticides are designed to kill some living organism. Therefore, protections are put in place to safeguard us and our surrounding environment. Pesticides are marvelous tools, but when used carelessly or intentionally misused, dire consequences can result. As the worst of these, livestock, wildlife, pets, and even people have all died as a direct result of pesticide poisoning.

Slide 5: It is not as important to memorize which of the governing bodies oversee pesticide usage as it is to know what one’s legal obligations are when using pesticides in Wisconsin. However, we should point out that the two prominent laws that are behind most of our pesticide regulations in use today is the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, and the state’s administrative rule, ATCP 29, administered by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, or DATCP.

Slide 6: Under the certification and training program, there are two types of pesticide applicators: private and commercial. You are a private applicator if you use pesticides for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity, and the pesticide applications are made on land owned or rented by you or your employer. If you fit the definition of a private pesticide applicator, you only need to become certified if you purchase, mix, load, or apply restricted-use pesticides.

Slide 7: Most of you obtain certification by passing an exam in the General Farming category. Passing the exam demonstrates to DATCP that you have met the knowledge requirements for using pesticides within that specific category. Private applicators producing any agricultural commodity may certify in the General Farming category.

Slide 8: However, those private applicators who are involved in the production of specialty crops have the option of getting certified in categories more appropriate to their production practices. However, if you are applying RUPs on corn and soybean or vegetable crops it is best to get the General Farm.

Slide 9: If you apply soil fumigants, apply pesticides with your irrigation water, or you do aerial application you will require supplemental certification in either of these subcategories. Each category and subcategory has its own specific training manual and certification exam. Also, it would be a good idea to have a piolets license for that last one.

Slide 10: Certification is valid for 5 years, after which you must pass a new exam based on a revised training manual. You must carry this card with you whenever you purchase, use, or direct the use of restricted-use pesticides. Please be aware that DATCP is no longer sending out notification of expired certifications. Your expiry date can be found on your certification card.

Slide 11: Certification is one method the EPA and DATCP uses to reduce the risks of pesticides. Other options are directed at specific pesticides or uses which warrant particular concern. For example, some pesticides are prohibited from use altogether, while others are limited to specific uses or sites. And some, such as atrazine, are regulated through special rules which impose use restrictions beyond those stated on the product labels.

Slide 12: Other provisions of Wisconsin law prohibit a person from: · Using a pesticide in a careless manner,

Slide 13: · Using a pesticide for unlabeled purposes,

Slide 14: · Directing another person to use a pesticide contrary to its label or law, and

Slide 15: And finally, operating equipment that is leaking or cannot be calibrated.

Slide 16: The Worker Protection Standard, or WPS, is designed to reduce risk of employee exposure to nearly all pesticide applications that are used for the production of agricultural plants. Thus, most applications of pesticides on farms and in forests, greenhouses, or nurseries are affected by the WPS.

Slide 17: Because the WPS is designed to protect workers, if you have no hired employees your obligation under the WPS is minimal. However, you and your immediate family still must heed the WPS restrictions of: · Entry into sites during a pesticide application, and · Early-entry into treated sites during its restricted-entry interval, or REI. Note that the WPS defines immediate family to include spouse, children, parents, brothers, and sisters; new rules includes, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces, and first cousins are added to the definition of immediate family.

Slide 18: The EPA has recently revised the Worker Protection Standard. The next several slides will highlight some of the changes. One of the largest changes is that employees will have to receive annual mandatory annual training. Previously it was set at every 5 years.

Slide 19: The training will require increased emphasis in a few areas, one of those being reducing take home exposure. This will expand on the concepts of not taking pesticides or pesticide containers home and laundering work cloths separately from the family laundry.

Slide 20: Employers will have to keep training records for 2 years.

Slide 21: The training grace period will not be allowed. Previously new employees could get a grace period so that they could start tasks in WPS covered areas. This grace period is going away. New employees will have to be trained be for they can work with pesticides or within areas treated by pesticides.

Slide 22: Posting is now mandatory on pesticides if the REI is 48 hours or greater in outdoor sites. If the REI is below 48 hours either oral notification or posting can be done, unless the product is a dual notice pesticide. Meaning the label requires both oral notification and posting.

Slide 23: In enclosed sites, for examples greenhouses, posting is required for any pesticide that has an REI of 4 hours or more.

Slide 24: Early entry workers still require oral notification and the correct PPE to do early entry tasks.

Slide 25: Employers still have to provide application specific info at a central location. However, in the new rules employers will have to provide a copy of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) also.

Slide 26: This information has to be displayed for 30 days after REI has expired.

Slide 27: Finally these records displayed have to be retained for 2 years.

Slide 28: Safety information still has to be displayed at central location, but now it has to be displayed at certain decontamination sites also.

Slide 29: Additional information, such as medical contact information will also have to be displayed at the central location.

Slide 30: The EPA is imposing a minimum age requirement of 18 years old for handlers and Early-entry workers.

Slide 31: A new application exclusion zone has been added. This zone will require that people stay out of a 100 foot exclusion zone while the application is occurring. Spraying will have to stop if people, other than the applicator, enter this zone.

Slide 32: This zone is based on the application equipment, not the property line or field. So it does not matter where the property line is or the edge of the field, it only matters where the sprayer is.

Slide 33: WPS is like any set of regulations or laws, they are not always easy to follow. The EPA, DATCP, UW-PAT Program and UW Extension is there to help you understand these new rules. The EPA will be updating the “How to Comply with the Worker Protection” Manual and the rest of us will continue to provide updates and information. Also we are always there to answer questions or at least help in finding out who can.

Slide 34: You may encounter situations where you will need to post an ATCP 29 warning sign to protect the general public when both of the following conditions exist: · The label requires posting or is a dual notice pesticide, and · The site borders within 300 feet of nonagricultural areas such as residences, schools, parks, or businesses, where people are likely to be present during the application or REI.

Slide 35: Some other types of warning signs that you may need to consider are in the cases of soil fumigation, chemigation, bulk grain storage and certain aquatic applications.

Slide 36: In your manual there is a flow chart to work through to identify what sign is required for posting and where it should be posted.

Slide 37: Keeping a record of all of your pesticide applications is good business sense. However, you must keep specific records whenever applying restricted-use pesticides. Because there are slight differences in recordkeeping requirements when applying atrazine, soil fumigants, and other restricted-use pesticides, we have provided a universal recordkeeping form as an appendix in your training manual. It could be pointed out that this is one of the most common violations reported by DATCP. One of the largest violations DATCP finds is that records are not kept correctly, that information is often missing.

Slide 38: The following is what has to be kept for pesticide records. First and last name of applicator.

Slide 39: The crop, commodity or site that the RUP was applied on.

Slide 40: A specific description of the location of the pesticide application site. The description shall contain sufficient information and detail so that the location of the pesticide application site may be readily determined.

Slide 41: The month, day, year, and approximate starting and ending time of the pesticide application.

Slide 42: The brand name, product name, or common chemical name, and the federal environmental protection agency registration number, of each pesticide applied.

Slide 43: At least one of the following: ATCP 29.33(3)(g)1. 1. The concentration and total quantity of each pesticide applied. ATCP 29.33(3)(g)2. 2. The amount of pesticide product applied per unit area and the total area treated.

Slide 44: As a private applicator, you are allowed to make pesticide applications on someone else’s land in exchange for services or goods between producers. There is no limit to the number of acres you may treat as a custom applicator under this type of arrangement. However, if money is used as payment for a pesticide application service, then a private applicator is limited to a total of 500 acres for no more than 3 different producers in any calendar year. If you go beyond these allowed limits, you then must be certified, and licensed, as a commercial applicator, and your business also must be licensed.

Slide 45: Besides becoming a certified applicator, you also will need to obtain special permits to apply certain rodenticides, controlling mammals – besides rats and mice –, any pesticide to control birds, and applications to aquatic sites, such as farm ponds. In the case of aquatic applications, you may even have to obtain certification in the commercial Aquatic category. Such requirements are covered in your training manual.

Slide 46: There are many federal and state agencies and regulations controlling the pesticides you use. Abiding by these regulations is sound pesticide management and safeguards against further restrictions or cancellations of pesticides or their uses. Throughout the remainder of this training, other legal obligations not covered here will be discussed pertinent to the topics being presented.