School Site Pesticide Use Reporting

Governor Gray Davis signed into law the Healthy Schools Act of 2000 (Assembly Bill 2260). This law specifies additional pesticide use reporting requirements for licensed pest control businesses (PCBs) and structural pest control businesses (SPCBs) that apply pesticides on public school sites. The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) will be mailing the following information to pest control businesses and structural pest control businesses sometime this month.

Effective January 1, 2002, persons engaged for hire in the business of pest control at a school site [defined in Education Code section 17609(e)] are required to report the use of pesticides to the Director of DPR. The enclosed School Site Pesticide Use Reporting (PUR) form or an equivalent form approved by the Director must be submitted, at least annually, by the 30th day following the end of the calendar year. You may download the new School Site PUR form at DPR’s Web site at www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pur/forms/purforms.htm.

For clarification, PCBs and SPCBs will continue to report monthly pesticide use to the county agricultural commissioners on the Monthly Summary Pesticide Use Report form (PR-ENF-060). In addition, PCBs and SPCBs are to send detailed information to DPR at least annually on the School Site Pesticide Use Reporting form (PR-ENF-117) under the Healthy Schools Act. These new reporting requirements include:

• Time the application was completed;
• Name and address of the school site; and
• Application location at the school site. Location includes, but is not limited to, classrooms, playgrounds, cafeteria, vehicles, and athletic fields.

The Healthy Schools Act of 2000 also puts into the Education Code DPR’s existing voluntary school Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program and adds requirements for schools, including parental notification of pesticide applications, warning signs, and pesticide record keeping at schools. DPR has established an IPM Web site that can be found at www.cdpr.ca.gov and then click on “School IPM.”

Also enclosed are:

1. Text of AB 2260;
2. Text of final DPR regulations pertaining to AB 2260; and
3. “California School IPM: A Program Overview.”

If you have any questions regarding the new pesticide reporting requirements or the School Site PUR form, please call Ms. Linda Lichtenberger at (916) 445-4127 or e-mail at llichtenberger@cdpr.ca.gov. For questions pertaining to the school IPM program, please call Mr. Tom Babb at (916) 323-2743 or e-mail at tbabb@cdpr.ca.gov.

Sincerely,