Trump Admin Rule To Shrink Exclusion Zone Near Pesticide Applications

"A new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule proposal would shrink enforcement responsibilities for farmers by narrowing the areas they must restrict human contact during pesticide applications, a move the agency is labelling easier management.

The rule announced Thursday shrinks enforcement of the boundaries established under the Application Exclusion Zone to just within farm owner property. The previous statute extended the exclusion zone to areas outside the farm, where workers and others might come into close proximity to the process and equipment used to spread pesticides.

The new proposal would also no longer mandate family members living on farms to leave during pesticide application times. Instead they can choose whether to voluntarily leave or stay on any homes or in any structures on the farm land."

Miranda Green reports for The Hill October 24, 2019.

Source: The Hill, 10/25/2019