Radical Pesticide Pre-Notification Bill Proposed in Oregon

The bill, which has been proposed by Democratic Sen. Tony Corcoran, would require the agriculture department to develop a list of persons with documented pesticide sensitivity and to distribute that list to all licensed pesticide operators, pesticide applicators and private and public applicators. Applicators would then be required to provide written notification to a person on the list at least 10 days prior to applying pesticides within the pesticide notification area.

Corcoran proposed the bill because a constituent who claimed she had a pesticide sensitivity complained to him about her neighbor who operated a vineyard and regularly used pesticides. The constituent complained that the use of these pesticides was affecting her health.

One question this bill raises is how costly it would be to implement. Corcoran doesn't believe that it would cause a logistical burden for the Agriculture Department, but Dale Mitchell, assistant administrator, pesticides division, disagrees.

"It is quite broad in its requirements and would have significant impact from a regulatory standpoint," Mitchell stressed. "If we created a registry, there would be significant cost incurred."

The Department hasn't completed a fiscal analysis as of yet, but Mitchell explained that if this legislation were to pass, he is certain it would create a logistical nightmare for his office.

"There are mailings that must go out not once but twice a year," he explained. "We have about 15,000 to 18,000 licensees [to notify] and it would [also] require us to provide this information to each utility company. That's a very broad requirement."

Not only would this bill cause nightmares for the Department of Agriculture, it would likely cause headaches for pesticide applicators as well.

"It begins to add to the administrative burden to small companies that don't have excess capacity in that arena," warned Fred Langley, manager for state government relations for Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment. "For a one or two man operation, adding a burden like that becomes difficult."

Langely continued by saying that with this type of notification system, the clock starts ticking every time there's a weather delay, which could be quite often in Oregon where the weather can be unpredictable. "Under the worst case scenario, you may never be able to treat the property."

Instead, Langley suggests that a registry like the one established in Connecticut would be sufficient. That registry, which usually stays steady at about 150 people, requires shared responsibility in that the homeowner must renew his listing yearly and provide the names of the abutting property owners.

"The applicator can then pick up a list each spring and it should be fairly current," Langley remarked. "With so few people, it's probably more manageable."

Langley explained that of the dozen or so states that have pesticide notification registries, the notification requirement is generally between 24 to 48 hours.

"If notification is really what you're trying to provide, realistically you only need a days notice," he asserted. "If weather delays the application, you should be able to put down an alternative day you expect to spray on the first notification. It shouldn't trigger another notification."

However, it seems as though neither party will have to worry about the bill for the time being.

Although Corcoran says he doesn't think the legislation is unreasonable, he admitted he has no reason to believe that the bill will pass.

"I think this is a good neighbor policy," Corcoran declared. "But the fundamental issue of property rights comes into play. At this point, I don't expect it to even get a hearing."