New pesticide regulations around schools will make process more complex, Merced County farmers say

Merced County farmers say a proposal to tightly regulate the use of pesticides on farmland near schools and day care centers would create a new layer of burdens for growers.

The proposal, which was posted Friday and will be up for public review through Nov. 17, would be among the nation’s toughest rules for pesticide use, regulators told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Crop-dusters flying over fields, air-blasters spraying orchards and fumigants that risk blowing onto campuses would no longer be allowed within a quarter-mile of those facilities, Brian Leahy, director of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation, told the AP.

Merced and other counties already have regulations in place, but the new state regulations would create uniformity statewide and, Leahy said, better protect students and teachers from illness.

Farmers, however, say it will create new headaches.

“For growers it’s going to make it more complex because there are more regulations,” Sean Runyon, assistant agricultural commissioner for the Merced County Agriculture Commissioner’s Office, told the Merced Sun-Star. “It could cause some growers to rethink strategies.”

In Merced County, farmers must comply with current processes before spraying pesticides either through the air or on the ground, Runyon said. How close a given pesticide can be used near a school depends on the type of pesticide, the weather, and when and how the pesticides are being sprayed.

“With our evaluations now, we typically don’t let people apply (pesticides) adjacent to schools,” Runyon said. “We look to apply when schools aren’t in session.”

Farmers are required to send in an application of intent, Runyon said, when they plan on spraying restricted material. The Agriculture Commissioner’s Office evaluates each application extensively and has the power to deny them, although this rarely occurs, he said.

“Growers in Merced County and applicators are very concerned with pesticides around schools,” Runyon said. “They do a wonderful job at keeping kids safe.”

Many growers have children attending nearby schools, Runyon said. “Growers here in Merced County do a wonderful job connecting with schools,” he said.

Breanne Ramos, executive director of the Merced County Farm Bureau, said farmers usually spray pesticides at night or on the weekend when school isn’t in session. Spraying on the weekends, she said, gives pesticides time to leave the air.

The Merced County School District declined to comment Friday.

Advocates of the proposal say tighter regulation is needed.

Paul Towers, spokesman for the Pesticide Action Network, told the AP it should be more rigorous.

Officials should prohibit farmers from spraying pesticides within 1 mile of school at any time because some harmful pesticides linger for hours or days, he said.

Regulators focus on preventing immediate illnesses, but he said the bigger concern is protecting children from long-term risk of cancer, brain development and reproductive issues.

“Piecemeal protections don’t go far enough,” Towers told the AP. “They need to take a more rigorous approach and establish a more health protective policy for all the state’s children.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 6:29 PM with the headline "New pesticide regulations around schools will make process more complex, Merced County farmers say."