A Short Legislative History of Pesticides in Connecticut
Early 1960's - Connecticut started licensing pesticide applicators
1970's - Connecticut created a list of registered pesticides in order to meet the new federal guidelines.
1991 - Created a pesticide notification law which created 2 new regulations.
- The law requires properties that have been treated with pesticides to place yellow notification labels of a certain size on the treated property.
- The law established a Pesticide Registry managed by the CT DEP. The Registry requires pesticide companies to warn those people on the Registry when the abutting neighbors are going to be sprayed. The form for the registry is on the CT DEP website and must be submitted before December 31st. of each year for the following spring. The form can be found at http://dep.state.ct.us/wst/pesticides/
1999 - Public Act 99-165 established a school pesticide law in response to Environment and Human Health's report on Pesticide uses in Connecticut's Public Schools. The law requires that:
- Only licensed applicators could spray in a school;
- Provides parents and staff with the school's pesticide program at the beginning of the school year;
- Provides a Registry at the school for parents and staff to sign up on who want to be notified before pesticides are sprayed;
- Provides that records of pesticide spraying be kept in the school of what pesticide was sprayed for 5 years
- Provides that no application be made during school hours - except in emergencies.
2005 - Public Act 05-252 - Bans the use of lawn-care pesticides on public and private grammar schools' and Children's Day-care centers' grounds.
- This law takes effect in January 2006. There is a 3 year exemption for grammar school athletic fields - but in that 3 year period the athletic fields must use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods and then after the three years is up-- those fields must become organic as well. The rational being ---- that it takes some time to wean athletic fields from their chemical dependency and on to organic methods. The ban of lawn-care pesticides will apply to the grammar school athletic fields as of July 2008.
2007 - Public Act No. 07-168 establishes a lawn-care pesticide ban on the grounds of public and private schools with grades K-8. Public Act 05-252 stays in affect for Children's Day Care Centers while Public Act 07-168 supercedes Public Act for 05-252 for grades K-8.
- Bans the use of lawn-care pesticides on public and private school grounds with grades K-8 as of October, 2007.
- There is a two year exemption for the athletic fields of schools K-8 - however the fields must be maintained by using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods. At the end of the two year period the athletic fields must become organic as well. The rational being ---- that it takes some time to wean athletic fields off of their chemical dependency and onto organic methods.
- The ban of lawn-care pesticides applies to school athletic fields with grades K-8 as of July 1, 2009.
|
