File No. 431

House of Representatives, April 8, 2010

The Committee on Environment reported through REP. ROY, R. of the 119th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR MUNICIPAL FACILITIES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 22-11b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):

(a) Within available appropriations, The University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension Service shall develop and implement (1) nonagricultural integrated pest management programs which shall include, but not be limited to, programs for trees, shrubs, turf and structural applications of integrated pest management techniques, and (2) agricultural integrated pest management programs, including, but not limited to, programs for vegetables, fruit, forage crops and nurseries. Such programs may incorporate research developed by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station pursuant to section 22-84a.

(b) Within available appropriations, The University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension Service, upon request of any municipality, state department, agency or institution, shall assist such municipality, department, agency or institution in determining the feasibility of integrated pest management and may provide technical assistance to such municipality, department, agency or institution in implementing integrated pest management.

(c) The University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension Service shall, on or before February first, annually, submit a report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the environment on implementation of integrated pest management programs.

Sec. 2. Section 22a-66l of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2010):

(a) Each municipality, state department, agency or institution shall use integrated pest management at facilities under its control if the Commissioner of Environmental Protection has provided model pest control management plans pertinent to such facilities.

(b) Each municipality, state agency or school [which] that enters into a contract for services for pest control and pesticide application may revise and maintain its bidding procedures to require contractors to supply integrated pest management services.

(c) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall, within available appropriations, annually review a sampling of municipal, state department, agency, school or institution pest control management plans required by regulations adopted under subsection (e) of this section or section 10-231b, and may review any application of pesticides to determine whether a municipality, state department, agency, school or institution acted in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection may provide model pest control management plans [which] that incorporate integrated pest management for each appropriate category of commercial pesticide certification [which] that it offers. The commissioner shall, within available resources, notify municipalities, school boards, and other political subdivisions of the state of the availability of the model plans for their use. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall consult with any state agency head in the development of any such plan for properties in the custody or control of such agency head.

(e) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, establishing requirements for the application of pesticides by any municipality, state department, agency or institution. Such regulations shall include provisions for integrated pest management methods to reduce the amount of pesticides used. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section and any regulations adopted under this section, a pesticide may be applied if the Commissioner of Public Health determines there is a public health emergency or the Commissioner of Environmental Protection determines that such application is necessary for control of mosquitoes.

(f) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall develop and implement a program to inform the public of the principles of integrated pest management and to encourage its application in private properties.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the application of a pesticide at a day care center, any public or private preschool or public or private school with students in grade eight or lower in violation of the provisions of section 19a-79a or 10-231b.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: See below

Explanation

The bill requires municipalities to use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) on facilities under its control. To the extent that some municipalities are not currently using IPM practices, there could be savings from the limited use of pesticides, as required under IPM.

The Out Years

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: See above

OLR Bill Analysis

sHB 5418

AN ACT CONCERNING INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR MUNICIPAL FACILITIES.

SUMMARY:

This bill extends existing requirements to use integrated pest management (IPM) to municipal facilities if the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has provided model pest control management plans for such facilities. Currently, state departments, agencies and institutions must use IPM at facilities under their control. IPM is a term used to describe a systematic method to control pests using non-chemical pest management methods and the judicious use of pesticides when pest populations exceed acceptable levels.

The bill specifies that it does not authorize pesticide application at day care centers, any public or private preschool, or public or private schools with students in grade eight or below in violation of current law that prohibits its use except in emergency situations.

The bill directs the UConn Cooperative Extension Service, within available appropriations and upon request of a municipality, to assist the municipality concerning the feasibility of IPM. It may also provide technical assistance to the municipality. The extension service currently does this, subject to appropriations, at the requests of state agencies and departments.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2010

MUNICIPALITIES AND IPM

The bill applies current IPM provisions concerning state agencies, departments, and institutions to municipalities. Each municipality must use IPM at facilities under its control, if DEP has provided model pest control management plans for such facilities. A municipality entering into a pest control and pesticide application contract can revise its bidding procedures to require contractors to supply IPM services. DEP, within available appropriations, must annually review a sampling of municipal IPM plans and can review a pesticide application to determine if the municipality acted according to law.

The bill requires existing DEP regulations on pesticide application by state departments and agencies to also address municipalities. By law, these regulations include provisions for IPM methods to reduce pesticide use.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Environment Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute