SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 5893

BYSenator Barr

Promoting the review of incidents of pesticide exposure.

Senate Committee on Agriculture

Senate Hearing Date(s):February 24, 1989; February 28, 1989

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5893 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

      Signed by Senators Barr, Chairman; Anderson, Vice Chairman; Bailey, Gaspard, Hansen, Madsen, Newhouse.

Senate Staff:John Stuhlmiller (786-7446)

                  March 2, 1989

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, FEBRUARY 28, 1989

BACKGROUND:

Pesticide Control and Application.  The Washington Pesticide Control Act and the Washington Pesticide Application Act are administered by the Department of Agriculture.  With certain exceptions, the Pesticide Control Act requires every pesticide distributed within the state to be registered annually with the director of the department.  It also requires that pesticide dealers, dealer managers, and pest control consultants be licensed.

The current fees and requirements of the Pesticide Control Act are as follows.  The fee for registering a pesticide is $20 per year.  The additional fee charged for late renewal of a registration is $10.  The annual license fee for a pesticide dealer's license and for a pest control consultant's license are each $20.  The fee for a dealer manager's license is $10.  The license for a public pest control consultant is currently free.

With certain exceptions, the Pesticide Application Act requires each person who commercially applies pesticides on the lands of others to be licensed as a pesticide applicator.  A person employed by an applicator who applies pesticides must be licensed as a pesticide operator.  The act also requires licenses for use, regulates the use of pesticides by public entities and operators, and requires persons who apply or supervise the application of restricted use pesticides on their own agricultural lands to be certified.

The current fees and requirements of the Pesticide Application Act are as follows.  The annual licensing fee for a commercial pesticide applicator is $100; for a commercial pesticide operator it is $20; for both private-commercial applicators and demonstration and research licensees the fee is $20.  The penalty assessed for late renewal of any license is 25 percent of the licensing fee.  Landscape gardeners are now exempt from licensing.  Each apparatus licensed under the act must carry a notice regarding the classification for which the user is licensed.

The director is required to report all violations for the levying of civil penalties.  The director is not required to report such violations for prosecution or condemnation proceedings.

The director of Agriculture may levy a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a violation of either act.

Pesticide Incident Review Panel.  Currently, no formal coordination exists between agencies for the reporting and tracking of cases of pesticide exposure.  Several agencies including the Department of Social and Health Services, the Department of Agriculture and local health departments have varying responsibilities dependent upon the type of incident reported.

Physician Reporting.  The Department of Social and Health Services is authorized to investigate pesticide poisonings and provide technical assistance and consultation to health care providers on the health effects of pesticides.  If an emergency involving pesticides occurs that represents a health hazard to the public, the department must be notified.  The department is then responsible for assuming control of the property, disposing of the hazardous material, preventing further contamination, and restoring the property to a nonhazardous condition.

Washington law does not require health care providers to report pesticide poisoning cases to the department or local health agencies.  Several states, including Oregon and California, require reporting of pesticide-related illness.

SUMMARY:

Provisions of the state's Pesticide Control Act and Pesticide Application Act are amended.  The maximum civil penalty that may be levied by the Director of Agriculture for a violation of either act is raised to $10,000, and all registration and license fees are increased.  A Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking Review Panel is established to coordinate state and local handling of incidents of pesticide exposure.  Also a system for physician reporting of suspected pesticide poisonings is established.

Pesticide Control Act.  The categories of persons who must be licensed as pesticide dealers are expanded to include persons who distribute spray adjuvants.  (Spray adjuvants include wetting agents, emulsifiers, and similar agents intended to be used with pesticides to aid the application or effect of the pesticides.)  The category for pesticides intended for experimental use, for which a written permit from the director is required as an alternative to registration, is expanded.

The fee for registering a pesticide ranges from $50 to $125, based on the number of pesticides registered by a person during a calendar year.  The additional fee charged for the late renewal of a registration is raised to $25.  The annual fees for a pesticide dealer's license and for a pest control consultant's license are each increased to $30.  The fee for a dealer manager's license is raised to $50.  A fee of $15 is established for a public pest control consultant's license which must be renewed annually.  The director is authorized to establish license examination fees by rule.  A user of a pesticide is permitted to transfer the pesticide to another user in certain circumstances without obtaining a dealer's license if the sole purpose of the transfer is to keep the pesticide from becoming hazardous waste.

The director is not required to report, for the levying of civil penalties, minor violations if the director believes the public interest is best served by the issuance of a written warning.

Pesticide Application Act.  The annual licensing fee for a commercial pesticide applicator is increased to $125; for a commercial pesticide operator it is increased to $30.  The licensing fee for a private-commercial applicator's license and for a demonstration and research license is raised to $50.  A public operator license is created and the fee for such a license is established at $15 per year.  An annual fee for private applicator certification is established at $15.  Late renewal fees will be $25 for a commercial pesticide applicator's license and an amount equal to the licensing fee for all other licenses.  An exemption from licensing is provided for certain lawn and yard maintenance persons.

The director is granted authority to establish recordkeeping requirements for licensees, permittees and certified applicators.

Pesticides restricted to use by certified applicators may only be used under the direct supervision of a certified applicator.  The director is not required to report minor violations for prosecution or the levying of civil penalties when the public interest is best served by a suitable notice of warning.  The requirement that each apparatus licensed under the Pesticide Application Act carry a notice regarding the classification for which the user is licensed is repealed.

The membership of the Pesticide Advisory Board is expanded to include one representative of the environmental community and one "citizen-at-large."

Pesticide Incident Review Panel.  A Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking (PIRT) Review Panel is established.  The panel shall help facilitate and centralize the receipt of information relating to alleged health and environmental incidents involving pesticides, and help coordinate and mobilize the proper expertise to assure timely and accurate investigation of pesticide incidents.  Membership of the Review Panel shall be:  the directors or designees of the Departments of Labor and Industries, Social and Health Services, Natural Resources and Ecology, and Agriculture (which shall also be the lead agency); the Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Washington; the head of the Department of Agricultural Chemistry at Washington State University; a representative of the Washington Poison Control Center; a practicing toxicologist; and a member of the general public.  The toxicologist and the public member shall be appointed by the Governor.

The PIRT Review Panel shall review all reported incidents on at least a monthly basis, and shall annually report its findings to the Governor and the Legislature.  The PIRT Review Panel shall also develop, with the aid of the State Board of Health, local health officers and other medical associations, a program of medical education to alert health care providers as to the specifics of pesticide poisonings and reporting.

Physician Reporting.  Any health care provider that initiates health services must report a case or suspected case of pesticide poisoning to the Department of Social and Health Services.  The report must be made in the manner prescribed by the State Board of Health, with reporting time periods ranging from immediate to seven days, depending on the severity of the case.  The Department of Social and Health Services must provide a toll-free telephone number for any oral reports.  Pesticide applicators or employers must provide available information to the health care provider on pesticide applications that may have affected the patient's health.

The Department of Social and Health Services is responsible for investigating the report to document the incident.  The results of the investigation must be reported to the health care provider making the original report.

The Department of Social and Health Services must notify the Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking Review Panel within the time period established by the State Board of Health rules. 

If a health care provider fails to make the required reports, the provider may be subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate authority.

No cause of action may arise as a result of a failure to make the required reports or because of any report made to the department.

Funding.  In order to fund the activities of the PIRT Review Panel and its supporting agencies, a surcharge of $5 is added to each pesticide registration and license fee established by the Washington Pesticide Control Act and the Washington Pesticide Application Act.

EFFECT OF PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE:

All fee increases are reduced by 20 percent with the exception of the private applicator license fee which is reduced to $5 per year.  Membership of the Pesticide Advisory Board is not changed. The maximum civil penalty which may be assessed for a violation of the act is only increased to $3,000.

All persons applying pesticides to more than one acre of agricultural land per calendar year are required to keep records for three years.  The records shall be available to the Department of Agriculture and medical personnel for use in treating patients suspected of suffering pesticide poisoning.  If the treating medical personnel makes a request for such records from an applicator and is refused, the department shall make the request within two working days, and the applicator shall provide the information within 24 hours of the department request.

Any claim by a person suffering damage due to the use of pesticides must be filed with the Department of Agriculture within 7 days of discovering the damage (currently 60 days).

The head of the Department of Agricultural Chemistry at Washington State University is replaced by the Pesticide Coordinator and Specialist of the Cooperative Extension at WSU as a member of the PIRT Review Panel.  The rule making authority for the Review Panel is deleted.

The Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Agriculture are each required to investigate all reported pesticide related cases within 24 hours.

The primary provider of health care shall make all necessary reports to the Department of Social and Health Services.

The development and implementation of a medical education program to alert health care providers of symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and reporting of pesticides is removed from the Review Panel's authority and put under the authority of the Department of Social and Health Services.

Appropriation:    none

Revenue:    yes

Fiscal Note:      requested February 23, 1989

Senate Committee - Testified: Bob VerBurg, Washington Agri-Business College, (pro); Larry Treleven, Washington State Pest Control Association; Errett Deck, Washington Agri-Business College (pro); Eric Slagle, DSHS (pro); Bill Schwerin, Washington Association of Wheat (pro); Susie Tracy, Washington State Medical Association (pro); Mike Schwisow, Department of Agriculture (pro); Duncan Wurm, WFFF (pro); Dan Coyne, Dairy Federation (pro); Bruce Briggs; (pro); Bill Roberts