#### CONTENTS

### PART 404 -- PEST MANAGEMENT

#### [Sec.]{.underline} [Page]{.underline}

##### [Subpart A -- General]{.underline}

#### 404.0 Purpose. 404-1

#### 404.1 Background. 404-1

#### 404.2 Authorities. 404-1

#### 404.3 Definitions. 404-2

#### 

### [Subpart B -- Policy]{.underline}

404.10 Pest Management. 404-7

404.11 Certification. 404-8

#### [Subpart C -- Responsibilities]{.underline}

404.20 Department of Agriculture. 404-9

404.21 NRCS National Headquarters Office. 404-9

#### 404.22 NRCS Regional Offices. 404-10

#### 404.23 NRCS State Offices (or equivalent). 404-11

#### 404.24 NRCS Field Service Centers (or equivalent). 404-12

[Subpart D -- Pest Management and Technical Assistance]{.underline}

404.30 Pest Management Component of the Conservation Plan. 404-13

404.31 Pest Management Application. 404-14

404.32 Social and Economic Considerations. 404-15

404.33 Environmental Justice. 404-15

404.34 Cultural Resources. 404-15

404.35 Pest Management Environmental Risk Analysis. 404-16

#### 

#### 

#### 

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

#### PART 404 -- PEST MANAGEMENT

SUBPART A -- GENERAL

404.2 (c)

404.0 Purpose.

This directive sets forth Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
policy and requirements for pest management. This pest management policy
applies only to pests that are living organisms (e.g., weeds, insects,
diseases, animals, etc.).

404.1 Background.

\(a\) A memorandum of understanding between the Cooperative State
Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) (formerly the
Cooperative Extension Service) and the NRCS (formerly the Soil
Conservation Service), dated June 3, 1988, (Title 460, General Manual
(GM) Part 401, Water Quality Policy) outlined various roles and
responsibilities for CSREES and NRCS. (See section 404.20 of this Part
for details.) Extension refers to the local component of CSREES.

\(b\) Pest management policy is applied through the Pest Management
(595) conservation practice standard located in Section IV of the local
Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG). NRCS Technical Guides policy and
responsibilities concerning soil, water, air, plants and animals are
contained in Title 450, GM, Part 401, Technical Guides, Subpart A,
Policy and Responsibilities.

404.2 Authorities.

The following laws and initiatives require U.S. Department of
Agriculture component agencies to reduce both the use and the risks of
pesticides and to promote sustainable agriculture that reduces
contamination of the Nation's natural resources:

\(a\) Executive Order 13112 of February 3, 1999, Invasive Species;

\(b\) Inter-Departmental Clean Water Action Plan, February 14, 1998
(i.e., signed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency);

\(c\) Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996, as amended;

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

Part 404 -- Pest Management

404.2 (d)

\(d\) Food Quality Protection Act of 1996;

\(e\) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Pesticide Environmental
Stewardship Program of 1994;

\(f\) U.S. Department of Agriculture's 1993 Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) Initiative;

\(g\) Section 404.4 of the Secretary\'s Memorandum No. 1929, dated
December 12, 1977, which provides the Department's policy statement on
management of pest problems;

\(h\) Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended;

\(i\) Clean Water Act of 1972, as amended; and

\(j\) National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended.

404.3 Definitions.

\(a\) Avoidance -- Avoiding pest impacts (e.g., using pest-resistant
varieties, crop rotation, trap crops, etc.). Avoidance is the "A" in the
Prevention, Avoidance, Monitoring, and Suppression (PAMS) approach to
IPM.

\(b\) Biological Pest Control -- The process of conserving, augmenting,
or introducing beneficial living organisms to reduce a pest population
or its impacts. It includes the use of insects, nematodes, mites, plant
pathogens, plants, vertebrates, and other living organisms.

\(c\) Conservation Management Unit (CMU) -- A field, group of fields, or
other land units of the same land use and having similar treatment needs
and planned management. A CMU is a grouping by the planner to simplify
planning activities and facilitate development of a Resource Management
System (RMS). A CMU has definite boundaries, such as fence lines,
drainageways, or changes in vegetation.

\(d\) Chemical Pest Control -- The use of pesticides such as herbicides,
insecticides, or fungicides to reduce a pest population or its impacts.

\(e\) Cultural Pest Control -- The use of farming practices other than
chemical and biological controls to reduce a pest population or its
impacts. Cultural controls include such

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Subpart A -- General

404.3 (m)

techniques as rotating crops, using pest-free seed and transplants,
using pest-resistant varieties, using good sanitation practices,
burning, and all forms of mechanical pest control.

\(f\) Environmental Risk -- The potential to impact the ecosystem
negatively.

\(g\) Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) -- A living entity that has
been modified or transformed with the application of recombinant
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology, commonly referred to as genetic
engineering.

\(h\) Integrated Pest Management (IPM) -- A sustainable approach to pest
control that combines the use of Prevention, Avoidance, Monitoring, and
Suppression strategies (PAMS), to maintain pest populations below
economically damaging levels, to minimize pest resistance, and to
minimize harmful effects of pest control on human health and
environmental resources. IPM suppression systems include biological
controls, cultural controls, and the judicious use of chemical controls.

\(i\) Invasive Species -- A species that is 1) non-native (or alien) to
the ecosystem under consideration and 2) whose introduction causes or is
likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health
(Executive Order 13112).

\(j\) Mechanical Pest Control -- A component of cultural pest control
that utilizes physical methods to reduce a pest population or its
impacts. Mechanical controls include cultivation, hoeing, hand weeding,
mowing, pruning, and vacuuming, etc.

\(k\) Mitigation -- The process of minimizing the potential for harmful
impacts of pest management activities on soil, water, air, plant, and
animal resources through the application of conservation practices
and/or management techniques.

\(l\) Monitoring -- Identifying the extent of pest populations and/or
the probability of future populations (e.g., pest scouting, soil
testing, weather forecasting, etc.). Monitoring is the "M" in the PAMS
approach to IPM.

\(m\) National Agriculture Pesticide Risk Analysis (NAPRA) -- A detailed
pesticide environmental risk analysis tool, designed for use by NRCS
specialists and their technology partners. NAPRA *quantitatively*
evaluates the potential for pesticides to be transported by water and
adversely affect non-target organisms, by modeling crop management
techniques under specific weather and soil conditions. Results include
the probabilities of pesticide leaching

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Part 404 -- Pest Management

404.3 (m)

below the root zone and runoff beyond the edge of the field to exceed
toxicity thresholds for

humans, fish, crustaceans, and algae. NAPRA can be used to refine
Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST) results and quantify
mitigation techniques needed to meet RMS water quality criteria.

\(n\) Pest -- A weed, insect, disease, animal, and other organism
(including invasive and non-invasive species) that directly or
indirectly causes damage or annoyance by destroying food and fiber
products, causing structural damage, or creating a poor environment for
other organisms.

\(o\) Pest Management -- Controlling organisms that cause damage or
annoyance. NRCS defines pest management as utilizing environmentally
sensitive prevention, avoidance, monitoring and suppression strategies
to manage weeds, insects, diseases, animals and other organisms
(including invasive and non-invasive species) that directly or
indirectly cause damage or annoyance.

\(p\) Pest Management Component of a Conservation Plan -- A portion of
the conservation plan that is developed by implementing the Pest
Management (595) conservation practice standard. The pest management
component, at a minimum, contains the five elements identified in the
plans and specifications section of the standard and in section
404.30(b) of this Part.

\(q\) Pest Management Environmental Risk Analysis -- An evaluation of
the potential for pest management (including the use of GMO's) to impact
the ecosystem negatively.

\(r\) Pesticide -- A substance or mixture of substances intended for
preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating pests; or a substance
or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator,
defoliant, or desiccant.

\(s\) Plant Regulator -- Any substance or mixture of substances
intended, through physiological action, for accelerating or retarding
the rate of growth or rate of maturation, or for otherwise altering the
behavior of plants or the produce thereof.

\(t\) Prevention -- Preventing pest populations (e.g., using pest-free
seeds and transplants, cleaning tillage and harvesting equipment between
fields, and scheduling irrigation to avoid situations conducive to
disease development, etc.). Prevention is the 'P' in the PAMS approach
to IPM.

404-4

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

#######  Subpart A -- General

404.3 (z)

\(u\) Resource Assessment -- Analyzing soil, water, air, plants and
animals information, and human considerations to determine resource
vulnerability, current conditions, and trends.

\(v\) Resource Management System (RMS) -- A combination of conservation
practices and resource management for the treatment of all identified
resource concerns for soil, water, air, plants, and animals that meets
or exceeds the quality criteria in the FOTG for resource sustainability.

\(w\) Resource Vulnerability -- Degree of susceptibility to injury based
on a combination of intrinsic site characteristics and extrinsic
management factors. For example, groundwater resource vulnerability is
determined by intrinsic site characteristics, such as climate, soil
properties, and depth to groundwater; and extrinsic management factors,
such as crop selection, pesticide application, and water management.

\(x\) Suppression -- Suppressing a pest population or its impacts using
cultural, biological, or chemical pest controls. Suppression is the "S"
in the PAMS approach to IPM.

\(y\) Windows Pesticide Screening Tool (WIN-PST) -- A basic screening
tool for pesticide environmental risk analysis, designed for use by NRCS
field office staff, crop consultants, certified crop advisors, and other
partners. WIN-PST *qualitatively* evaluates the potential for pesticides
to be transported by water from the area of application and adversely
affect non-target organisms. WIN-PST considers the influence of climate,
irrigation, residue management, and pesticide application method and
rate class on the potential for pesticide leaching below the root zone
and runoff beyond the edge of the field. It also incorporates long-term
pesticide toxicity to humans and aquatic life in its overall risk
ratings of "Extra High," "High," "Intermediate," "Low," or "Very Low."
WIN-PST provides environmental risk information that a planner can use
to formulate appropriate mitigation techniques that meet RMS water
quality criteria.

\(z\) Third Party Vendor -- An individual in either the public or
private sector who has been certified by an approved, independent
certification organization or natural resource conservation agent as
being qualified to provide certain types of conservation assistance and
who participates in the USDA-Approved Vendor Process, outlined in the
NRCS Conservation Programs Manual, Part 504, Conservation Assistance
from Third Party Vendors.

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(190-GM, Amend. 6 , November 2001)

PART 404 -- PEST MANAGEMENT

SUBPART B -- POLICY

404.10 (f)

404.10 Pest Management.

\(a\) Guidance and requirements in this Subpart are applicable to all
NRCS technical assistance that involves pest management. All NRCS
employees will follow these requirements when providing such technical
assistance. Third Party Vendors and other non-NRCS employees will use
these pest management requirements when assisting clients with
conservation activities for which NRCS has technical responsibility.

\(b\) Pest management is an important component of the Resource
Management System (RMS) planning process.

\(c\) NRCS roles in pest management are:

\(1\) Evaluating environmental risks associated with probable pest
management recommendations;

> \(2\) Developing appropriate mitigation alternatives to minimize
> environmental risks;
>
> \(3\) Assisting clients to adopt IPM that helps protect natural
> resources; and

\(4\) Assisting clients to develop and implement an acceptable pest
management component of their overall conservation plans.

\(d\) Mitigation techniques will be planned and implemented to reduce
the environmental risks of pest management activities, in accordance
with quality criteria in the local FOTG.

\(e\) NRCS, Third Party Vendors, and other non-NRCS employees will
incorporate

IPM that strives to balance economics, efficacy, and environmental risk
into planning alternatives where it is available. If commodity-specific
IPM information is not available, NRCS, Third Party Vendors, and other
non-NRCS employees will encourage the use of general IPM methods and
principles, including pest prevention, avoidance, monitoring, and
suppression strategies.

\(f\) NRCS pest management activities must be in compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended.

### 404 -7

(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

Part 404 -- Pest Management

404.10 (g)

\(g\) The pest management component of a conservation plan is to be
developed in compliance with all applicable Federal, Tribal, State,
and/or local regulations. Federal, Tribal, State and/or local
regulations take precedence over NRCS policy when they are more
restrictive.

\(h\) NRCS State Conservationists/Directors of the Pacific Basin and
Caribbean Areas will supplement this guidance, as necessary, to make it
applicable to local conditions and provide a review copy to their
Regional Conservationists.

404.11 Certification.

Certification is not required to develop or revise pest management
components of NRCS conservation plans, however, all persons who approve
pest management components of NRCS conservation plans must be certified
specialists in pest management in accordance with Title 180, GM, Part
409, Conservation Planning Policy.

### 

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

PART 404 -- PEST MANAGEMENT

### SUBPART C -- RESPONSIBILITIES

404.21 (a)

404.20 Department of Agriculture.

\(a\) Responsibilities, as described in a June 3, 1988, memorandum of
understanding between CSREES and NRCS (i.e., Title 460, GM, Part 401,
Water Quality Policy), are as follows:

\(1\) CSREES agrees to provide assistance to NRCS in support of the
development and use of site-specific information and to address water
quality issues;

\(2\) CSREES and NRCS agree to cooperate in encouraging each State's (or
equivalent) Extension and NRCS organizational unit to develop guidelines
and appropriate pesticide and nutrient management components for use in
landowners'/operators' conservation plans; and

\(3\) NRCS agrees (as outlined in a Department of Agriculture companion
document to the June 3, 1988, memorandum of understanding between CSREES
and NRCS) to:

\(i\) ". . . provide site-specific resource data and planning assistance
with regard to pesticide use and impacts of water quality to pesticide
users and others making land use and management decisions;" and

\(ii\) ". . . assist landowners with the implementation of acceptable
pesticide management practices."

\(b\) Additionally, to meet the requirements of the Food Quality
Protection Act of 1996, NRCS is committed to promoting IPM that provides
both economic and environmental benefits.

404.21 NRCS National Headquarters Office.

\(a\) The Deputy Chief for Science and Technology, under the direction
of the Chief, is responsible for providing national leadership for
policy and procedures for NRCS pest management and identification of
pest management research and technology development needs.

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Part 404 -- Pest Management

404.21 (b)

\(b\) The Director of the Ecological Sciences Division is responsible
for developing, implementing, and evaluating NRCS pest management policy
and procedures.

\(c\) The National Pest Management Specialist of the Ecological Sciences
Division provides national leadership for pest management policy and
training.

\(d\) The Director of the Conservation Engineering Division, through the
National Water and Climate Center (NWCC), is responsible for
environmental risk analysis technology relating to pest management.

\(e\) The Director of the NWCC, within the Conservation Engineering
Division, is responsible for establishing and maintaining data and
information technology to support NRCS environmental risk evaluation
activities relating to pest management.

\(f\) Pest Management Specialists of the NWCC, within the Conservation
Engineering Division, provide national leadership for pest management
environmental risk technologies including WIN-PST and NAPRA. They have
development, maintenance, and training responsibilities for data sets
and tools that support pest management environmental risk evaluation
activities.

\(g\) The Director of the Soil Survey Division is responsible for
maintaining the soil

database to support interpretations for pesticide leaching, solution
runoff, and adsorbed runoff loss potentials.

\(h\) The Director of the Conservation Operations Division is
responsible for ensuring that all NRCS programs which include pest
management shall fully utilize the pest management science and
technology set forth in this policy.

404.22 NRCS Regional Offices.

\(a\) Regional Conservationists (RC's) will ensure that State
Conservationists/Directors of the Pacific Basin and Caribbean Areas
coordinate pest management activities with adjoining States and regions
(e.g., across Major Land Resource Area boundaries).

\(b\) Regional Technology Specialists will assist RC's in addressing
pest management concerns.

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

Subpart C -- Responsibilities

404.23 (a)(6)

404.23 NRCS State Offices (or equivalent).

State Conservationists/Directors of the Pacific Basin and Caribbean
Areas are responsible for:

\(a\) Targeting pest management technical assistance to specific
resource concerns and locations within their respective States/Areas
(e.g., watersheds with pesticide-impaired sources of drinking water,
pesticide Total Maximum Daily Load requirements, or highly vulnerable
areas that may contribute to future pest management-related
contamination);

\(b\) Supplementing pest management guidance and requirements, as
necessary, making it applicable to local conditions and providing a
review copy to respective Regional Conservationists;

\(c\) Ensuring that appropriate training is provided to all NRCS
personnel who provide pest management guidance to the public, and
establishing a process to provide continuing education to maintain
employee competency and certification;

\(d\) Making certain that all NRCS personnel who provide pest management

guidance to the public:

> \(1\) Meet applicable requirements for their positions;

\(2\) Complete NRCS-endorsed pest management courses; and

\(3\) Pass State or local testing requirements as required by law.

\(e\) Developing an appropriate Pest Management (595) conservation
practice standard for each local FOTG and ensuring that each
conservation plan has a pest management component, if needed;

\(f\) Working in consultation with respective State Technical Committees
to

address State-specific pest management issues and to approve pest
management certification program(s) within the State; and

404-11

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

Part 404 -- Pest Management

404.23 (g)

\(g\) Utilizing appropriate technology to evaluate pest management
environmental risks. (WIN-PST and NAPRA should be used to evaluate
pesticide environmental risks. Use of other pesticide analysis tools
that are considered better technology must be reviewed by NWCC Pest
Management Specialists and the National Pest Management Specialist of
ECS, to ensure consistency with WIN-PST and NAPRA.)

404.24 NRCS Field Service Centers (or equivalent).

\(a\) NRCS field service center technical leaders (e.g., District
Conservationists and Team Leaders) are responsible for providing local
leadership in implementing pest management policy and procedures.

\(b\) NRCS field service center (or equivalent) employees are
responsible for:

\(1\) Implementing pest management policy provisions and using the Pest
Management (595) conservation practice standard appropriately; and

\(2\) Identifying pest management needs and informing State
Conservationists/ Directors of the Pacific Basin and Caribbean Areas, or
designee(s), of these needs, as appropriate. (Examples include
identifying environmental risk analysis tools, mitigation techniques,
commodity-specific IPM information, and training needed to incorporate
pest management into conservation planning.)

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

#### PART 404 -- PEST MANAGEMENT

### SUBPART D -- PEST MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

404.30 (d)

404.30 Pest Management Component of the Conservation Plan.

\(a\) The pest management component of the conservation plan is an
integral part of the overall RMS plan for the CMU. Provisions of the
pest management component will recognize other requirements of the
conservation plan and make it possible for clients to comply with both
pest management provisions and all other provisions of the conservation
plan.

\(b\) The pest management component of the conservation plan is to be
developed in accordance with criteria in the Pest Management (595)
conservation practice standard in the local FOTG. As a minimum, the
following items are to be included in the pest management component of
the conservation plan:

\(1\) Plan map and soil map of the managed site, if applicable (use RMS
plan maps, if available);

\(2\) Location of sensitive resources and setbacks, if applicable (use
RMS plan maps, if available);

\(3\) Environmental risk analysis, with approved tools and/or
procedures, for probable pest management recommendations by crop, if
applicable, and by pest;

\(4\) Interpretation of the environmental risk analysis and
identification of appropriate mitigation techniques; and

\(5\) Operation and maintenance requirements.

\(c\) The pest management component of a conservation plan is to be
developed to accommodate the client's management system, including
organic agriculture and sustainable agriculture.

\(d\) Clients, including those who participate in cost share programs
that contain pest management provisions, or their representatives, must
document the implementation of the Pest

Management (595) conservation practice standard contained in the local
FOTG. Records will be reviewed by NRCS periodically to ensure they are
in accordance with the pest management

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

Part 404 -- Pest Management

404.30 (d)

component of the clients\' conservation plan. Also, clients should
review and update their pest management plans periodically in order to
incorporate new IPM technology, respond to cropping system and pest
complex changes, and avoid the development of pest resistance.

\(e\) Certified conservation planners must approve revisions to the pest
management component of the conservation plan.

404.31 Pesticide Management Application.

\(a\) Risks to beneficial insects (e.g., honeybees, parasitic wasps,
lady beetles, etc.) must be considered when developing the pest
management component of the conservation plan.

\(b\) For animal agriculture (including aquaculture), risks to water
quality, to animals being raised, and to consumers of those animals or
animal products must all be considered when developing the pest
management component of the conservation plan.

\(c\) NRCS does not develop pesticide recommendations or change label
instructions or recommended specifications for pesticide application.

\(d\) It is the clients' or their representatives' responsibility to
ensure that all pesticides included in the pest management component of
their conservation plans are currently registered for use at their
location by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The product label
must contain specific instructions for the proposed use; or, the
proposed use must be permitted by special local needs registration or
emergency exemptions from registration.

\(e\) Clients are to be instructed to pay special attention to all
environmental hazards and site-specific application criteria listed on
the pesticide label and contained in Extension and crop consultant
recommendations (e.g., ground water advisory statements, application
setbacks, application rate limitations on highly erodible land, soil
type exclusions, etc.).

\(f\) Records of restricted-use pesticide application, in accordance
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing
Service's Pesticide Record Keeping Program, must be maintained for at
least two years. State-specific requirements for pesticide
record-keeping may be more restrictive.

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

Subpart D -- Pest Management and Technical Assistance

404.34

\(g\) NRCS employees must adhere to all Worker Protection Standard
safety measures associated with pest management during the development
of the conservation plan and throughout its implementation.

\(h\) Federal and State (or equivalent) level restrictions on the use of
certain pesticides in designated areas (e.g., public wellhead protection
areas, adjacent to sensitive crop areas, adjacent to endangered species
habitat, etc.) must be followed.

\(i\) On NRCS-operated properties, such as plant material centers,
personnel who apply or supervise the application of approved pesticides
must follow all label instructions and be trained and certified
according to State regulations.

\(j\) NRCS will cooperate with Federal and State (and equivalent)
conservation agencies and the private sector to identify research needs
for pest management and mitigation techniques that reduce environmental
risks.

404.32 Social and Economic Considerations.

The pest management component of the conservation plan must be designed
and implemented at an appropriate level of complexity to address social
and economic constraints, resource limitations, management capabilities,
pest management philosophies, and other social and cultural issues.
Social considerations include public health and safety and other
societal goals, as well as social, family and religious values,
ethnicity, risk tolerance or aversion, land tenure, and time
availability. Economic considerations include size of farm, type of
farming system (e.g., high versus low technology, high versus low
intensity cropping systems, etc.), available capital, and land tenure.

404.33 Environmental Justice.

The pest management component of a conservation plan will not create
undue hardship on socially disadvantaged or other economically limited
communities or individuals.

404.34 Cultural Resources.

NRCS General Manual, Title 420, Part 401, Cultural Resources Policy,
lists the Pest Management (595) conservation practice under
"Conservation Practices Not Considered as Undertakings" and states that
"Such practices do not require cultural resources considerations."

### 

404-15

(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)

Part 404 -- Pest Management

404.35

404.35 Pest Management Environmental Risk Analysis.

\(a\) Environmental risks of pest management must be evaluated for all
resource concerns identified in the conservation planning process,
including the negative impacts of pesticides in ground and surface water
on humans and non-target plants and animals. The pest management
component of the conservation plan must be designed to minimize negative
impacts of pest control on all identified resource concerns.

\(b\) Offsite effects of pest management must be evaluated with
appropriate tools and/or procedures. WIN-PST and NAPRA are nationally
supported for evaluating offsite pesticide movement through runoff and
leaching. WIN-PST is designed for general field office use and provides
qualitative environmental risk analysis that is adequate for most
situations. NAPRA is more sensitive to pesticide application techniques
than WIN-PST and provides quantitative results. NAPRA was designed to be
use by state specialists to quantify mitigation benefits in high-risk
areas that are identified with field office use of WIN-PST. NAPRA can
also be used to refine high-risk WIN-PST results. States (or equivalent)
utilizing pesticide environmental risk screening tools other than
WIN-PST and NAPRA, need to coordinate their use with NWCC Pest
Management Specialists and the National Pest Management Specialist of
ECS to ensure that the technology being applied is consistent with
WIN-PST and NAPRA. The risk of environmental degradation by other pest
management methods and management techniques (i.e., tillage, burning,
biological predation, etc.) must also be assessed with appropriate
analysis tools such as the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE),
the Wind Erosion Equation (WEQ), or the Soil Conditioning Index (SCI).
If an appropriate analysis tool or procedure is not available for a
proposed pest management method, environmental risk analysis is left to
the professional judgment of the planner. Analysis inputs and results
should be documented in the conservation plan to justify the need for
mitigation described in section 404.35(c) below.

\(c\) When pest management alternatives have significant potential to
impact identified resources negatively, appropriate mitigation
techniques must be planned and implemented to address identified risks
to humans and non-target plants and animals. Mitigation techniques
include conservation practices (e.g., Filter Strip, Conservation Crop
Rotation, Irrigation Water Management, etc.) and management techniques
(e.g., application method, application timing, product choice, etc.).
For example, utilizing pesticides that have "Extra High," "High," or
"Intermediate" WIN-PST soil/pesticide human risk ratings in the drainage
area of a drinking water reservoir would require an appropriate set of
mitigation techniques. State (or equivalent) standards will identify
appropriate mitigation techniques for major pest management risks by
loss pathway to each resource concern.

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(190-GM, Amend. 6, November 2001)