DPR Guide

Regulating Pesticides: The California Story, a Guide to
Pesticide Regulation in California

Regulating Pesticides: The California Story, A Guide to Pesticide Regulation in California was published in October 2001. In its 135 pages you will information on pesticide laws and regulations, the Department's organizational structure, an explanation of regulatory and registration processes, a description of local and state enforcement activities, and details on DPR initiatives to protect people and the environment. It can be downloaded free of charge (download the Guide, 1.2 Mb PDF file), or you may order a printed copy by sending an $8 check and a request for DPR Publication No. 203 to Cashier, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, P.O. Box 4015, Sacramento 95812-4015. To view or download by chapters, see below.

Preface

California's Food and Agricultural Code Section 11501 sets forth the general purposes of the legal code that fundamentally authorizes the State's pesticide regulatory program:

To provide for the proper, safe, and efficient use of pesticides essential for production of food and fiber and for protection of the public health and safety.
To protect the environment from environmentally harmful pesticides by prohibiting, regulating, or ensuring proper stewardship of those pesticides.
To assure agricultural and pest control workers of safe working conditions where pesticides are present.
To permit agricultural pest control by competent and responsible licensees and permittees under strict control of the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the County Agricultural Commissioners.
To assure consumers and users that pesticides are properly labeled and appropriate for the use designated by the label and that state or local governmental dissemination of information on pesticidal uses of any registered pesticide product is consistent with the uses for which the product is registered.
To encourage the development and implementation of pest management systems, stressing application of biological and cultural pest control techniques with selective pesticides when necessary to achieve acceptable levels of control with the least possible harm to the public health, nontarget organisms, and the environment.

Explaining how Department of Pesticide Regulation policies and programs work to fulfill these and other responsibilities is the intent of this publication.

(CHAPTER 1) (PDF, 163kb)


California First Century of Pesticide Regulation
The 19th century: Pests flourish, new pesticides developed	1
Early pesticide regulation: Focus on consumer fraud	2
The 1920s: Food residues become a concern	4
New pesticides and the Green Revolution	5
Problems prompt new controls	7
Silent Spring: Concerns about long-term effects	7
*Preemption: Federal, state and local jurisdiction over pesticide use*	9
California's Environmental Quality Act and its impact on pesticide regulation	10
The 1980s: A decade of legislative mandates	10
Pesticide regulation given departmental status	12
Accomplishments and future directions
*The rulemaking process*	15
*Flowchart of regulations process*	16


(CHAPTER 2) (PDF, 60kb)
Departmental Organization
Division of Registration and Health Evaluation	17
Division of Enforcement and Environmental Monitoring	18
Division of Administrative Services	19
Department organization chart	19
Strategic planning	20

(CHAPTER 3) (PDF, 98kb)
Pesticide Registration
The registration process	21
Improving the process	23
*Challenge and Change: Changing Pesticide Regulation in California*	25
Registration of pest control devices	26
Experimental uses and research authorizations	26
Exemptions from registration requirements	26
Comparing Section 18s and Section 24(c)s	29

(CHAPTER 4) (PDF, 49kb)
Continuous Evaluation and Reevaluation
The reevaluation process	31
Evaluating pesticides in air	32
Other air programs	34

(CHAPTER 5) (PDF, 73kb)
Assessing Pesticide Risks
Brief history of risk assessment	35
*Birth Defect Prevention Act*	36
*The risk assessment process*	37
*Proposition 65*	39

(CHAPTER 6) (PDF, 51kb)
Monitoring and Evaluating Pesticide Exposure
Exposure assessment and mitigation	41
Exposure monitoring program	42
Dietary risk assessment	43
Workplace evaluation program	44

(CHAPTER 7) (PDF, 117kb)
Enforcing Pesticide Laws
Organization and jurisdiction	45
Enforcement authority	46
Licensing and certification	46
Restricted materials and permitting	48
Cooperative agreement with U.S. EPA	49
County pesticide use surveillance	50
Enforcement and compliance options	50
*The County Agricultural Commissioners*	51
Improving enforcement	53
*Product Compliance Program*	55

(CHAPTER 8) (PDF, 67kb)
Pesticide Residue Monitoring
Focus turns to pesticide residues	57
California's first legislation	58
California expands residue monitoring	59
Marketplace Surveillance Program	60
Testing methods	62
Coordination with federal agencies	62

(CHAPTER 9) (PDF, 59kb)
Protecting Workers and the Public
Key worker protection elements	63
Coordination with County Agricultural Commissioners	64
Investigating pesticide-related illnesses and incidents	65
The Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program	66
The investigative process	66
Improving physician reporting	67

(CHAPTER 10) (PDF, 50kb)
Pesticide Use Reporting
History of use reporting in California	69
The use reporting progress	70
Improving the process	70
How DPR uses the data	72

(CHAPTER 11) (PDF, 111kb)
Protecting the Environment
Air programs	75
Pesticide element of the 1994 ozone State Implementation Plan	76
Protecting water quality	77
Protecting ground water	78
The Pesticide Contamination Prevention Act Review Process	80
Surface water programs	81
Preventing Ground Water Contamination	82
Emergency projects monitoring	84
Endangered species program	84
Mapping endangered species habitat	85

(CHAPTER 12) (PDF, 65kb)
Reducing the Risks of Managing Pests
Pest Management Strategy	87
Pest Management Advisory Committee	88
IPM Innovators program	88
Grant programs	89
Other risk reduction activities	90

(CHAPTER 13) (PDF, 43kb)
The Public and Pesticides: Addressing Conflicts and Concerns
Reducing friction at the agricultural-urban interface	93
People and Pesticides Quality Team	94
Northwestern California tribal territories herbicide monitoring project	94
Lompoc Interagency Work Group	95
Environmental justice	95

(CHAPTER 14) (PDF, 65kb)
Information Management and Access
Data Library	97
Label Resource Center	97
Department databases	97
DPR on the Web	100
Establishing an e-government environment	101

(CHAPTER 15) (PDF, 49kb)
Pesticide Regulatory Program Funding
History of program funding	103
Mill assessment	103
Certificates of registration	104
Pesticide-related business licenses	104
Audits	105
Food Safety Account	105
Other fund sources	105

Key Abbreviations and Terms (PDF, 30kb)	107
Index (PDF, 55kb)	111

Editor's Note:
The State's pesticide regulatory program has had departmental status since 1991, as the Department of Pesticide Regulation, within the California Environmental Protection Agency. But the pesticide program had its beginnings in the early 1920s as a function of the California Department of Agriculture (later to be called the Department of Food and Agriculture). The Department of Agriculture published an annual report from 1919 through 1958. Those reports were an invaluable and priceless source of information for this publication. Excerpts from the report were also used as pullout quotations throughout this publication. Please note that when a quotation is attributed to "Department annual report," the reference is to an annual report of the California Department of Agriculture.

Credits:
Editor: Veda Federighi
Associate Editor: Glenn Brank
Cover photos: All are courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Photographs on Pages 1, 5, 57, 61, 63, 97 and 99 are from various California Department of Agriculture (CDA) annual reports. (The State's pesticide regulatory program was part of CDA until 1991.) Photographs on Pages 8, 11, 23, 27, 34, 41, 44, 48, 53, 76, 84, 89, and 92 are courtesy of USDA.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in particular Kevin Herglotz and Alice Welch, for their invaluable help with researching photographs and generosity in sharing them. Thanks as well to the many Department of Pesticide Regulation staff members who shared their knowledge about and expertise on the Department's highly complex programs and procedures. Thanks too for their patience in waiting for this publication to be finished. And to Dorothy Fisher of the DPR Communications Office, for proof-reading and editing the drafts more often than anyone should be asked to do so.