ALBANY, N.Y. – A proposed New York state law will require written notice of lawn pesticide use by commercial applicators and also targets homeowners, requiring them to post flags when using pesticides on their lawns, according to a Reuters news release. These proposed stipulations add to the existing state law that requires commercial applicators to post warning flags on lawns and requires commercial applicators and homeowners to provide 48-hour notice to neighbors when pesticides will be applied.
The legislative agreement was reached on Monday and is expected to pass in both houses of the state's legislature on Thursday. The measure would take effect next spring if Gov. George Pataki signs the bill as he has indicated.
Under the proposed bill, homeowners will have to post warning flags around their property prior to using pesticides, while commercial users will have to provide written notice. Counties will also have an option of requiring 48-hour notice by commercial applicators and homeowners to alert neighbors within 150 feet whenever certain applications are to occur.
Schools would have until autumn 2001 to comply with the new rules.
Members of the chemical application industry said they were dissatisfied with the measure.
"We generally support a notification registry of people who want to be notified, but disagree with universally notifying people," said Allen James, executive director of the Washington-based Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE) that represents pesticide suppliers, manufacturers and distributors.
"We want to reduce the burden of notifying hundreds of thousands of people, but provide information to those who want it," he said.
Sen. Carl Marcellino of suburban Long Island, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said, "Parents and homeowners have the right to know when pesticides are being used so that they can take reasonable and necessary precautions to safeguard their children, pets and themselves from unnecessary exposure to these chemicals." Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, of Long Island, was also a co-sponsor.