For today’s article, I’m relaying important information about changes to pesticide applicator regulations straight from a factsheet put together by the Office of the Indiana State Chemist (OISC). Find the information below and more at: https://oisc.purdue.edu/pesticide/index.html.
What Regulatory Requirements Have Been Revised?
Applicator Certification: Under the revised rules, only fully certified applicators will be allowed to use restricted use pesticides (RUPs). Supervision of noncertified applicators or registered technicians (RTs) using RUPs will no longer be allowed. This new restriction will apply to both private applicators (farmers) and commercial applicators. The standards to become certified will remain unchanged https://oisc.purdue.edu/pesticide/exam_dates_and_sign_up.html.
Supervision of General Use Pesticide (GUP) Applicators: Commercial applicators using GUPs will still be required to be fully certified. And those commercial applicators can still supervise noncertified GUP applicators, largely as they have in the past. Commercial applicators supervising for-hire GUP applications may do so by either being physically present at the work site or by ensuring the noncertified applicator is a registered technician (RT). All GUP commercial applicator supervision still requires direct voice or text communication, paper or e-labels, label-required PPE/equipment/training, and supervisor(s) affiliated with the same business. However, there is no longer a limit on the number of RTs that can be supervised, no need to designate a specific supervisor within the business, and no need to provide RTs with site-specific “fact sheets.”
Record Keeping for Applicators and RUP Dealers: As previously required, all applicators (both private and commercial) using RUPs and all commercial applicators using any pesticide (both RUPs and GUPs) at schools or golf courses or for termite control must keep records of those applications for at least two years. The required record keeping items have remained largely unchanged, with the notable addition of a start and stop time for each application. Also, as previously required, all RUP dealers selling or distributing RUPs must keep distribution records for at least two years. Several record keeping items have been added including the agency that issued the applicator’s certification (if not OISC), the applicator’s certification category, any state registration number for a state special local need or emergency exemption product, and a signature or confirmation documentation for the person ordering or receiving the product. A summary of the record keeping requirements for applicators and dealers is available at https://oisc.purdue.edu/pesticide/index.html.
The effective date of the new rule is January 4, 2023. However, as has been the custom with most new rules, OISC will utilize 2023 as a period to gain voluntary and orderly compliance with the new requirements through additional industry outreach and compliance assistance. The new standards will not be enforced against individuals already compliant with the 2022 requirements until January 1, 2024. This will allow adequate lead time for implementation of the new rule.