SECTIONS 13141-13152 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 13141-13152

13141. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) It is the right of every citizen in this state to drink safe,
potable, wholesome, and pure drinking water.
(b) The health and economic prosperity of rural communities and
individual farm families in the state are threatened by contaminated
drinking water supplies because of their proximity to the use of
pesticides.
(c) Pesticide contaminants and other organic chemicals are being
found at an ever increasing rate in underground drinking water
supplies.
(d) The United States Environmental Protection Agency has
concluded that evidence of relatively localized levels of pesticide
pollution should be treated as a warning of more widespread, future
contamination.
(e) Groundwater once polluted cannot be easily cleaned up; thus,
there is a considerable potential that groundwater pollution will
continue long after actions have been taken to restrict application
of the pesticide to land.
(f) Due to the potential widespread exposure to public drinking
water supplies from pesticide applications to the land and the
resultant risk to public health and welfare, the potential for
pollution of groundwater due to pesticide use must be considered in
the registration, renewal, and reregistration process.
(g) It is the purpose of this article to prevent further pesticide
pollution of the groundwater aquifers of this state which may be
used for drinking water supplies.

13142. For the purposes of this article, the following definitions
apply:
(a) "Active ingredient" has the same meaning as defined in Section
136 of Title 7 of the United States Code.
(b) "Agricultural use" has the same meaning as defined in Section
11408.
(c) "Board" means the State Water Resources Control Board.
(d) "Chemigation" means a method of irrigation whereby a pesticide
is mixed with irrigation water before the water is applied to the
crop or to the soil.
(e) "Degradation product" means a substance resulting from the
transformation of a pesticide by physicochemical or biochemical
means.
(f) "Groundwater protection data gap" means that, for a particular
pesticide, the director, after study, has been unable to determine
that each study required pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 13143
has been submitted or that each study submitted pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 13143 is valid, complete, and adequate.
(g) "Henry's Law constant" is an indicator of the escaping
tendency of dilute solutes from water and is approximated by the
ratio of the vapor pressure to the water solubility at the same
temperature.
(h) "Pesticide" is defined in Section 12753.
(i) "Pesticide registrant" means a person that has registered a
pesticide pursuant to this chapter.
(j) "Pollution" means the introduction into the groundwaters of
the state of an active ingredient, other specified product, or
degradation product of an active ingredient of a pesticide above a
level, with an adequate margin of safety, that does not cause adverse
health effects.
(k) "Soil adsorption coefficient" is a measure of the tendency of
pesticides, or their biologically active transformation products, to
bond to the surfaces of soil particles.
(l) "Soil microbial zone" means the zone of the soil below which
the activity of microbial species is so reduced that it has no
significant effect on pesticide breakdown.

13143. (a) Not later than December 1, 1986, a person that has
registered a pesticide in California for agricultural use shall
submit to the director the information prescribed in this
subdivision. The information shall be submitted for each active
ingredient in each pesticide registered. The registrant shall submit
all of the following information:
(1) Water solubility.
(2) Vapor pressure.
(3) Octanol-water partition coefficient.
(4) The soil adsorption coefficient.
(5) Henry's Law constant.
(6) Dissipation studies, including hydrolysis, photolysis, aerobic
and anaerobic soil metabolism, and field dissipation, under
California or similar environmental use conditions.
(7) Any additional information the director determines is
necessary.
(b) The director also may require the information prescribed in
subdivision (a) for other specified ingredients and degradation
products of an active ingredient in any pesticide. The director shall
also require this information when the State Department of Health
Services or the board submits a written request for the information
to the director, if the State Department of Health Services or the
board specifies the reasons why it considers the information
necessary. The director shall deny the request upon a written finding
that, based on available scientific evidence, the request would not
further the purposes of this article.
(c) All information submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
presented in English and summarized in tabular form on no more than
three sheets of paper with the actual studies, including methods and
protocols attached. All information , at a minimum, shall meet the
testing methods and reporting requirements provided by the
Environmental Protection Agency Pesticide Assessment Guidelines,
Subdivision D Series 60 to 64, inclusive, for product chemistry and
Subdivision N Series 161 to 164, inclusive, for environmental fate,
including information required for degradation products in specific
studies. With prior approval from the director, registrants may use
specified alternative protocols as permitted by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, if the director finds use
of the protocol is consistent with, and accomplishes the objectives
of, this article. Studies conducted on active ingredients in the
formulation of pesticides shall meet the same testing methods as
required for studies conducted on active ingredients. The department,
in consultation with the board, in addition, may require specified
testing protocols that are specific to California soil and climatic
conditions. The director may give a pesticide registrant an extension
of up to two years if it determines that this additional time is
necessary and warranted to complete the studies required in paragraph
(6) of subdivision (a). No extension of the deadline for these
studies shall go beyond December 1, 1989. When seeking the extension,
the registrant shall submit to the director a written report on the
current status of the dissipation studies for which the extension is
being sought. For registrants granted an extension pursuant to this
section, Section 13145 shall be effective upon the completion date
established by the director.
(d) The director may grant the registrant an extension beyond the
one authorized in subdivision (c), if all of the following conditions
are met:
(1) The registrant submits a written request to the director for
an extension beyond the one granted pursuant to subdivision (c). The
request shall include the reasons why the extension is necessary and
the findings produced by the study up to the time the request is
made.
(2) The director finds that the registrant has made every effort
to complete the studies required in paragraph (6) of subdivision (a)
within the required time limits of the extension granted pursuant to
subdivision (c) and that those studies could not be completed within
the required time limits due to circumstances beyond the control of
the registrant.
(3) The director establishes a final deadline, not to exceed one
year beyond the time limit of the extension granted pursuant to
subdivision (c), and a schedule of progress by which the registrant
shall complete the studies required in paragraph (6) of subdivision
(a).
(e) After December 1, 1986, no registration of any new pesticide
shall be granted unless the applicant submits all of the information
required by the director pursuant to this article and the director
finds that the information meets the requirements of this article.

13144. (a) The department shall establish specific numerical values
for water solubility, soil adsorption coefficient (Koc), hydrolysis,
aerobic and anaerobic soil metabolism, and field dissipation. The
values established by the department shall be at least equal to those
established by the Environmental Protection Agency. The department
shall revise the numerical values when the department finds that the
revision is necessary to protect the groundwater of the state. The
numerical values established or revised by the department shall
always be at least as stringent as the values being used by the
Environmental Protection Agency at the time the values are
established or revised by the department.
(b) On or before December 31, 2004, and updated at least annually
thereafter, the director shall post the following information on the
department's Web site for each pesticide registered for agricultural
use and during years that specific numerical values are revised:
(1) A list of each active ingredient, other specified ingredient,
or degradation product of an active ingredient of a pesticide for
which there is a groundwater protection data gap.
(2) A list of each pesticide that contains an active ingredient,
other specified ingredients, or degradation product of an active
ingredient that is greater than one or more of the numerical values
established pursuant to subdivision (a), or is less than the
numerical value in the case of soil adsorption coefficient, in both
of the following categories:
(A) Water solubility or soil adsorption coefficient (Koc).
(B) Hydrolysis, aerobic soil metabolism, anaerobic soil
metabolism, or field dissipation.
(3) For each pesticide listed pursuant to paragraph (2) for which
information is available, a list of the amount sold in California
during the most recent year for which sales information is available
and where and for what purpose the pesticide was used, when this
information is available in the pesticide use report.
(c) The department shall determine, to the extent possible, the
toxicological significance of the degradation products and other
specified ingredients identified pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b).

13145. (a) Any registrant of a pesticide identified in paragraph
(1) of subdivision (b) of Section 13144 is subject to a fine of up to
ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each day the groundwater
protection data gap exists. In determining the amount of the fine,
the director shall consider both of the following:
(1) The extent to which the registrant has made every effort to
submit valid, complete, and adequate information within the required
time limits.
(2) Circumstances beyond the control of the registrant that have
prevented the registrant from submitting valid, complete, and
adequate information within the required time limits.
(b) If there is a dispute between the director and a registrant
regarding the existence of a groundwater protection data gap and the
director desires to levy a fine on the registrant pursuant to this
section, the director shall submit the issues of the dispute to the
subcommittee created pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13150.
The subcommittee shall review the evidence submitted by the
registrant and the director and make recommendations to the director
on whether or not the groundwater data gap exists.
(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to pesticide products
whose registration has lapsed or has been canceled, or to products
that have been granted a current extension pursuant to Section 13143.
(d) The director shall, by regulation, establish a list of
pesticides that have the potential to pollute groundwater. The list
shall be entitled the Groundwater Protection List. Notwithstanding
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code, the director shall immediately
place all pesticides identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b)
of Section 13144 on the Groundwater Protection List and shall
regulate the use of these pesticides if the pesticide is intended to
be applied to or injected into the soil by ground-based application
equipment or by chemigation, or the label of the pesticide requires
or recommends that the application be followed, within 72 hours, by
flood or furrow irrigation. The director shall adopt regulations to
carry out this article. The regulations shall include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(1) Any person who uses a pesticide that has been placed on the
Groundwater Protection List and does not file a report pursuant to
Section 12979, is required to report to the county agricultural
commissioner the use of the pesticide on a form prescribed by the
director. The reporting deadline shall conform to the deadline
established for the reporting of the use of restricted materials.
(2) Dealers of pesticides shall make quarterly reports to the
director of all sales of pesticides that have been placed on the
Groundwater Protection List to persons who are not otherwise required
to file a report pursuant to either paragraph (1) or Section 12979.
This report shall include lists of all sales by purchases.

13146. (a) The director shall not register or renew the
registration of a pesticide intended to be applied to or injected
into the ground by ground-based application equipment or by
chemigation after December 1, 1988, if there is a groundwater
protection data gap for that pesticide, unless the registrant has
been granted a current extension pursuant to Section 13143.
(b) The director shall not register or renew the registration of a
pesticide intended for use with other than ground-based application
equipment after December 1, 1989, if there is a groundwater
protection data gap for that pesticide, unless the registrant has
been granted a current extension pursuant to Section 13143.
(c) If a registrant does not comply with the information
requirements of Section 13143, the department shall file the
information requirements of Section 13143 in accordance with
procedures provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of
subsection (c) of Section 136a of Title 7 of the United States Code.
In order to carry out this section, the director has the same
authority to require information from registrants of active pesticide
ingredients that the administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency has pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of
subsection (c) of Section 136a of Title 7 of the United States Code.
On or before July 1, 1986, the director shall, by regulation,
prescribe procedures for resolving disputes or funding the filing of
the information requirements of Section 13143. The procedures may
include mediation and arbitration. The arbitration procedures,
insofar as practical, shall be consistent with the federal act, or
otherwise shall be in accordance with the commercial arbitration
rules established by the American Arbitration Association. The
procedures shall be established so as to resolve any dispute with the
timetable established in Section 13143.
(d) For an active ingredient or pesticide for which a registrant
or registrants do not provide the information required pursuant to
Section 13143, the director may determine the active ingredient or
pesticide to be critical to agricultural production and the director
may utilize assessments charged to those registrants of the active
ingredient for which the information is required pursuant to Section
13143 in amounts necessary to cover the department's expenses in
obtaining the information. The assessment shall be made pursuant to
Section 12824. The director may also request an appropriation to be
used in combination with assessments to obtain the required
information.

13147. The director shall annually request a budget appropriation
in order to meet the reasonable and anticipated costs of conducting
soil and water monitoring pursuant to Section 13148, a review of data
submitted pursuant to Section 13143, and the administration of
pesticides placed on the Groundwater Protection List pursuant to this
article.

13148. (a) In order to more accurately determine the mobility and
persistence of the pesticides identified pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 13144 and to determine if these
pesticides have migrated to groundwaters of the state, the director
shall conduct soil and groundwater monitoring statewide in areas of
the state where the pesticide is primarily used or where other
factors identified pursuant to Section 13143 and subdivision (b) of
Section 13144, including physicochemical characteristics and use
practices of the pesticides, indicate a probability that the
pesticide may migrate to the groundwaters of the state. The
monitoring shall commence within one year after the pesticide is
placed on the Groundwater Protection List and shall be conducted in
accordance with standard protocol and testing procedures established
pursuant to subdivision (b). Monitoring programs shall replicate
conditions under which the pesticide is normally used in the area of
monitoring. In developing a monitoring program, the director shall
coordinate with other agencies that conduct soil and groundwater
monitoring.
(b) Within 90 days after a pesticide is placed on the Groundwater
Protection List pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 13145, the
director, in consultation with the board, shall develop a standard
protocol and testing procedure for each pesticide identified pursuant
to subdivision (d) of Section 13145.
(c) The director shall report all monitoring results to the State
Department of Health Services and the board.

13149. (a) Within 90 days after a pesticide is found under any of
the conditions listed in paragraph (1), (2), or (3), the director
shall determine whether the pesticide resulted from agricultural use
in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, and shall
state in writing the reasons for the determination.
(1) An active ingredient of a pesticide has been found at or below
the deepest of the following depths:
(A) Eight feet below the soil surface.
(B) Below the root zone of the crop where the active ingredient
was found.
(C) Below the soil microbial zone.
(2) An active ingredient of a pesticide has been found in the
groundwaters of the state.
(3) The pesticide has degradation products or other specified
ingredients that pose a threat to public health and that have been
found under the conditions specified for active ingredients in either
paragraph (1) or (2).
(b) Upon a determination by the director that a pesticide meets
any of the conditions specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of
subdivision (a) as a result of agricultural use in accordance with
state and federal laws and regulations, the director shall
immediately notify the registrant of the determination and of the
registrant's opportunity to request a hearing pursuant to subdivision
(c).
(c) Any pesticide that meets any of the conditions in subdivision
(b) shall be subject to Section 13150 if the registrant of the
pesticide requests, within 30 days after the notice is issued, that
the subcommittee conduct a hearing, as described in Section 13150.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the registrant does
not request the hearing within 30 days after the notice is issued,
the director shall cancel the registration of the pesticide.
(d) For the purposes of this section, any finding of a pesticide
shall result from either an analytical method approved by the
department that provides unequivocal identification of a chemical,
such as mass spectroscopy, or from verification, within 30 days, by a
second analytical method or a second analytical laboratory approved
by the department.

13150. The director may allow the continued registration, sale, and
use of a pesticide that meets any one of the conditions specified in
Section 13149 if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The registrant submits a report and documented evidence that
demonstrate both of the following:
(1) That the presence in the soil of any active ingredient, other
specified ingredient, or degradation product does not threaten to
pollute the groundwater of the state in any region within the state
in which the pesticide may be used according to the terms under which
it is registered.
(2) That any active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or
degradation product that has been found in groundwater has not
polluted, and does not threaten to pollute, the groundwater of the
state in any region within the state in which the pesticide may be
used according to the terms under which it is registered.
(b) A subcommittee of the director's pesticide registration and
evaluation committee, consisting of one member each representing the
director, the State Department of Health Services, and the board,
holds a hearing, within 180 days after it is requested by the
registrant, to review the report and documented evidence submitted by
the registrant and any other information or data that the
subcommittee determines is necessary to make a finding.
(c) The subcommittee, within 90 days after the hearing is
conducted, makes any of the following findings and recommendations:
(1) That the ingredient found in the soil or groundwater has not
polluted, and does not threaten to pollute, the groundwater of the
state.
(2) That the agricultural use of the pesticide can be modified so
that there is a high probability that the pesticide would not pollute
the groundwater of the state.
(3) That modification of the agricultural use of the pesticide
pursuant to paragraph (2) or cancellation of the pesticide will cause
severe economic hardship on the state's agricultural industry, and
that no alternative products or practices can be effectively used so
that there is a high probability that pollution of the groundwater of
the state will not occur. The subcommittee shall recommend a level
of the pesticide that does not significantly diminish the margin of
safety recognized by the subcommittee to not cause adverse health
effects.
When the subcommittee makes a finding pursuant to paragraph (2) or
this paragraph (3), it shall determine whether the adverse health
effects of the pesticide are carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, or
neurotoxic.
(d) The director, within 30 days after the subcommittee issues its
findings, does any of the following:
(1) Concurs with the subcommittee finding pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (c).
(2) Concurs with the subcommittee finding pursuant to paragraph
(2) of subdivision (c), and adopts modifications that result in a
high probability that the pesticide would not pollute the
groundwaters of the state.
(3) Concurs with the subcommittee findings pursuant to paragraph
(3) of subdivision (c), or determines that the subcommittee finding
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) will cause severe
economic hardship on the state's agricultural industry. In either
case, the director shall adopt the subcommittee's recommended level
or shall establish a different level, provided the level does not
significantly diminish the margin of safety to not cause adverse
health effects.
(4) Determines that, contrary to the finding of the subcommittee,
no pollution or threat to pollution exists. The director shall state
the reasons for his or her decisions in writing at the time any
action is taken, specifying any differences with the subcommittee's
findings and recommendations. The written statement shall be
transmitted to the appropriate committees of the Senate and Assembly,
the State Department of Health Services, and the board.
When the director takes action pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3),
he or she shall determine whether the adverse health effects of the
pesticide are carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, or neurotoxic.

13151. Any pesticide identified pursuant to Section 13149 that
fails to meet any of the conditions of Section 13150 shall be
canceled.

13152. (a) The department shall conduct ongoing soil and
groundwater monitoring of any pesticide whose continued use is
permitted pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section
13150.
(b) Any pesticide monitored pursuant to this section that is
determined, by review of monitoring data and any other relevant data,
to pollute the groundwaters of the state two years after the
director takes action pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of
Section 13150 shall be canceled unless the director has determined
that the adverse health effects of the pesticide are not
carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, or neurotoxic.
(c) The department shall maintain a statewide database of wells
sampled for pesticide active ingredients. All agencies shall submit
to the department, in a timely manner, the results of any well
sampling for pesticide active ingredients and the results of any well
sampling that detect any pesticide active ingredients.
(d) Not later than June 30, 1986, the director, the State
Department of Health Services, and the board shall jointly establish
minimum requirements for well sampling that will ensure precise and
accurate results. The requirements shall be distributed to all
agencies that conduct well sampling. All well sampling conducted
after December 1, 1986, shall meet the minimum requirements
established pursuant to this subdivision.
(e) The department shall post the following information on its Web
site, updated no later than December 1 of each year:
(1) The number of wells sampled for pesticide active ingredients,
the location of the wells from which the samples were taken, the well
numbers, if available, and the agencies responsible for drawing and
analyzing the samples.
(2) The number of well samples with detectable levels of pesticide
active ingredients, the location of the wells from which the samples
were taken, the well numbers, if available, and the agencies
responsible for drawing and analyzing the samples.
(3) An analysis of the results of well sampling described in
paragraphs (1) and (2), to determine the probable source of the
residues. The analysis shall consider factors such as the physical
and chemical characteristics of the pesticide, volume of use and
method of application of the pesticide, irrigation practices related
to use of the pesticide, and types of soil in areas where the
pesticide is applied.
(4) Actions taken by the director and the board to prevent
pesticides from migrating to groundwaters of the state.