For instance, a public hearing is required to pass such a policy, Rosen said. And there is a 14-day notice required for that. The state legislation calls for residents to notify their neighbors if they are spraying certain pesticides on their property. It is up to each county whether or not they want to enact the law in residential areas. It is state mandated that schools and day care centers be notified.
Some guidelines do already exist for administering the policy.
The area being treated must be at least 100 square feet and the law requires notification to neighbors that reside within 150 feet of the treated area. Solid pesticides are among those excluded from the provision -there is actually only a handful of lawn care items eligible to be reported. These sprays are classified as a having the highest possibility of containing possible carcinogenic. A representative from the Sierra Club sat in on the Health Legislation Committee last night to hear the county s decision. This has been a big issue for us, Richard Singerland of the Iroquois group of the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club said.