Chicago City Wire

The Illinois Department of Agriculture met June 23 to review the community's water supply compliance.

Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the state:

INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON PESTICIDES MEETING June 23, 2016 Meeting Minutes Illinois Department of Agriculture Building Springfield, Illinois In Attendance- - Members:John Teefey, Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDA)Curt Colwell, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)Dan Stephenson, Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)David Robson, Univ. of Illinois-College of Agriculture (ACES) By Phone:Jeff Levengood, Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) Absent:Representative, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA)Richard Telford, Illinois Department of Transportation (IDoT) Others Present:Scott Frank, Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDA)Charles Spencer, GROWMARK Inc. The meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m. The agenda for the meeting is included as Attachment 1. The minutes from the March 3, 2016, December 3, 2015, and September 3, 2015 meetings were distributed electronically prior to the meeting. On a motion by Mr. Robson, a second by Dr. Colwell, and a unanimous vote, the minutes for all meetings were approved. INCIDENT REPORTS: IDA - Mr. Frank reported there were two incidents involving pesticides and two incidents involving only fertilizer to report from the Illinois Department of Agriculture involving pesticides during the last three months. Details are included as Attachment 2.IDNR - Mr. Stevenson reported there were no incidents to report from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.IEPA - AbsentIDPH - Dr. Colwell reported there were no incidents to report from the Illinois Department of Public Health.IDoT - AbsentU of IL-ACES - Mr. Robson reported there were no incidents to report from the University of Illinois.U of IL-INHS - Dr. Levengood reported there were no incidents to report from the Illinois Natural History Survey. 24(c) REQUESTS: None SECTION 18 REQUESTS: None COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY COMPLIANCE: No report SECTION 2(ee) RECOMMENDATIONS: Mr. Frank distributed copies of section 2(ee) recommendations for eight products. These are included as Attachment 3. PESTICIDE MISUSE COMPLAINT STATUS: Mr. Frank reported that as of June 17, 2016, 65 complaints had been received by the Department with 51 of them being agriculturally related. This compares to 59 on this date in 2015 and 57 in 2014. One cases has been closed with no misuse determined, two warning letters having been issued, and one administrative hearing has been scheduled. The hearing dealt with an applicator license violation. IDPH STRUCTURAL PEST CONTROL PROGRAM UPDATE: No report OLD BUSINESS:Mr. Teefey briefly mentioned the new Worker Protection Standard rules that have been discussed at prior meetings. A point of discussion now centers around the application exclusion zone, or AEZ. This involves an area around the application equipment that moves with the applicator or piece of equipment. The applicator must suspend the application if someone is in the AEZ. The size of the AEZ can vary with the type of application and other factors. Guidance from U.S. EPA will be forthcoming. A discussion was held dealing with the proposed rule updates from U.S. EPA for the certification of pesticide applicators. This was also discussed at the last three meetings. EPA is planning to finalize the rule changes during the fall of 2016. Since many state recertification programs have gone slightly different directions over the past several decades, EPA is attempting to make the new rules as flexible as possible to allow incorporation of the different approaches in the states. Mr. Teefey discussed several bills before the General Assembly in the spring legislative session. Senate Bill 2918 amended the Illinois Pesticide Act by combining the Commercial Not For Hire Applicator with the Public Applicator type of license. Licenses for commercial and commercial not for hire applicators and operators will become three-year licenses beginning in 2018. Currently, licenses are for a one-year period. Dealer registrations will also be for a three-year period. SB 2918 passed both houses and is awaiting the Governor’s action. HB5900, Saving Illinois’ Pollinators Act, would prohibit the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on public lands and in outdoor settings. This bill was not advanced. Also discussed, although not related to pesticide use, was SB2910. This bill amended the Noxious Weed Law to allow the Department to send a Notice of Noncompliance to the Control Authority who fails to carry out the duties under the law. This bill also passed both houses and awaits the Governor’s action. Mr. Teefey updated the committee on the status of the Pollinator Protection Plan. IDA has drafted a plan for Department review after which the process for review by others will be determined. No further old business was brought before the committee. NEW BUSINESS:Mr. Frank informed the committee of the plans for this year’s unwanted pesticide collection (Clean Sweep) program. The focus will be on Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Jasper, Lawrence, Moultrie, Richland, and Shelby counties with the Farm Bureau, Soil & Water Conservation District, and Extension from each county cooperating. Participants must register the products by July 15 with the collection to be held in September. Also mentioned was the Department’s container recycling program where agrichemical containers made of HDPE #2 plastic can be collected for recycling. Thirty-one single-day collection sites have been scheduled between July 26 and August 26. The schedule with times and locations is available on the Department’s website site at www.agr.state.il.us. Mr. Teefey updated the committee on the pesticide applicator licensing program. The program will be administered quite similarly to last year. A couple of clinics will be moved to an earlier date to allow licenses to be issued sooner. Mr. Teefey discussed a letter received from Sandra and James Smith and Evan Smith from Cisco, IL regarding aerial applications. The Smiths are advocating prior notice be given concerning the aerial application of pesticides, similar to the Lawn Care Products Application and Notice Act. Discussion followed whereby the pros and cons were mentioned as well as the procedures on the part of the Department. No further new business was brought before the committee. The meeting was adjourned at 11:35 a.m. The next meeting of the Interagency Committee on Pesticides is scheduled for September 1, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. in Natural Resources Conference Room #1 at the Illinois Department of Agriculture building on the State Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL.