Pesticide Incident Reimbursement Law

Beginning in 2005, various laws require responsible parties to pay for certain medical costs when a pesticide use violation causes a non-occupational illness or injury.

The passage of Senate Bill 391 (Chapter 319, Statutes of 2004), adds Sections 12996.5, 12997.5, and 12997.7 to the Food and Agricultural Code, resulted in two major changes. One change is that an obligation to pay for uncompensated acute exposure medical costs, in a non-occupational situation, is placed on the business responsible for the harm. The other change is the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and the County Agricultural Commissioners (CAC) can impose separate violation counts for each person exposed in an occupational or in a non-occupational situation.

The law also requires Cal/EPA, in conjunction with other agencies, to develop protocols for pesticide drift incident local response plans. Those protocols are being developed and will be available later in 2006.

Enclosed is the “Non-Occupational Pesticide Injuries – Implementation Guidance to the County Agricultural Commissioners for Senate Bill 391” to assist in implementing the new law. Although the CAC does not oversee the medical reimbursement process, there are several elements of the new law such as timely investigation, notification to the violator, and fine amount adjustments that require clarification. Included in the Implementation Guidance is a template Notice of Proposed Action (NOPA) and a quick-reference list of citable regulation sections for separate counts for

You may also find it helpful to refer to the January 2005 summary handout on SB 391, available on DPR´s Website at www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/county/sb391.pdf.

If you have questions, please contact your Enforcement Branch Liaison.

Sincerely,