SENATE BILL REPORT

                            SB 5943

               AS PASSED SENATE, MARCH 11, 1993

Brief Description:  Changing the responsibilities of the pesticide incident reporting and tracking review panel.

SPONSORS: Senators Loveland and M. Rasmussen

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

Majority Report:  Do pass. 

     Signed by Senators M. Rasmussen, Chairman; Loveland, Vice Chairman; Anderson, Barr, Bauer, Newhouse, and Snyder.

Staff:  John Stuhlmiller (786‑7446)

Hearing Dates: March 2, 1993

BACKGROUND:

The Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking Review Panel was created in 1989 and is currently responsible for:

1)Establishing guidelines for centralizing the receipt of information involving pesticide incidents;

2)Reviewing and making recommendations for procedures for the investigation of pesticide incidents;

3)Monitoring the time periods for response to reports of pesticide incidents by the Departments of Agriculture, Health, and Labor and Industries;

4)Upon request, reviewing pesticide incidents of unusual complexity or which cannot be resolved;

5)Identifying inadequacies in state and/or federal law that result in insufficient protection of public health, with specific attention to examining pesticide re-entry intervals as established by the EPA; and

6)Reviewing and preparing an annual report.

SUMMARY:

The Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking Review Panel's authority to study and recommend re-entry intervals which are different from the standards established by the EPA is removed from statute, in order to eliminate duplicate authority.

Appropriation:  none

Revenue:  none

Fiscal Note:  none requested

TESTIMONY FOR:

The bill is needed to eliminate duplicate effort at the state and federal level.  The EPA is already spending great amounts of time and money on establishing re-entry intervals and the state does not have the resources or expertise to duplicate that effort.

TESTIMONY AGAINST:  None

TESTIFIED:  Mark Triplett, Washington Horticulture Association (pro)