2014 IPLCA Turf Education Day
Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL
September 12, 2014
Warren D. Goetsch. P.E.
Illinois Department of Agriculture
 Pesticide licensure requirements
 2014 Pesticide Misuse Complaints
 Nutrient Management & the Loss Reduction
Strategy
Pesticide licensure
 The Illinois Department of Agriculture certifies and
licenses those applying pesticides in outdoor
environments and in the production of agricultural
commodities.
 The Illinois Department of Public Health certifies and
licenses individuals applying pesticides in and on
manmade structures. This includes nuisance bird
control, rodent control, wood treatment, and insect
control.
Pesticide Licensure
 Required of everyone applying restricted use
pesticides (RUPs)
 Required of anyone applying restricted use or general
use pesticides in the course of employment
 A person applying general use pesticides on his or her
own property is exempt from licensure
 A license is required to purchase restricted use
pesticides but not general use pesticides
Pesticide licensure
 Applicator – Person who owns or manages a pesticide
application business, uses pesticides, and/or
supervises pesticide use. Every entity engaged in
pesticide application must have at least one licensed
applicator.
 Operator – Person who applies pesticides under the
direct supervision of a licensed applicator. Multiple
operators may work under the supervision of an
applicator
Pesticide licensure
 5 license types
 Private
 Dealer
 Commercial
 Commercial Not-For-Hire
 Public
Pesticide licensure
 17 licensure categories
 Aquatic
 Demonstration & Research
 Field Crop
 Forest
 Fruit
 Grain Facility
 Livestock
 Mosquito
 Ornamental
Plant Management
Regulatory
Right-of-way
Sewer line root control
Seed treatment
Soil fumigation
Turf
Vegetable Crop
Pesticide licensure
 Two step process – certification and licensure
 Certification – successfully complete required
examinations (3 calendar year life)
 HB5464 – exams valid through calendar year
 Licensure – meet proof of financial responsibility
requirements (if applicable), complete required
certifications, and submit application & fee (private – 3
calendar year life, all others – 1 calendar year life)
 License expiration at end of calendar year (Dec. 31)
Pesticide licensure
In 2013, the Department licensed approximately 33,523
individuals to apply pesticides in Illinois
 17,763 private applicators
 15,760 commercial, commercial not-for-hire, dealer, and
public applicators and operators
Notification
 Placement of Markers following application to lawns
 Applications to school or day care center grounds –
Registry of parents and guardians
Lawn Markers
 Immediately following the application of lawn
care products to a lawn, an applicator shall place a
lawn marker at the usual point or points of entry.
 Lawn care products include both pesticides and
fertilizers.
 Lawn includes land area covered with turf kept closely
mown or land area covered with turf and trees or
shrubs.
Lawn Markers
 4” by 5” sign - white in color
 Lettering in a contrasting color at least 3/8”
in height
 “LAWN CARE APPLICATION-STAY OFF
GRASS UNTIL DRY-FOR MORE
INFORMATION CONTACT: _____(name
and phone number of applicator)____”
 Bottom of marker at least 12” above the turf
 Remove marker the following day
Registry
 When pesticide (not lawn care product) applications
are made to school or day care center grounds other
than school structures, notification must be made.
 If only a fertilizer is applied, this does not apply. But, a
weed & feed product contains pesticides.
Registry
 Applies to more than just the lawn – any pesticide
application to school or day care center grounds,
other than the structures.
Registry - Schools
School districts must maintain a registry of parents and
guardians who have registered to receive written or
telephonic notification before the application of
pesticides and notify those on the registry OR schools
must provide written or telephonic notification to all
parents and guardians before applications.
Registry – Day Care Centers
Day Care Centers must maintain a registry of parents
and guardians who have registered to receive written
notification before the application of pesticides and
notify those on the registry OR day cares must provide
written or telephonic notification to all parents and
guardians before applications.
Written Notification
May be included in newsletters, calendars, or other
correspondence currently being published, but
posting on a bulletin board or door is not sufficient.
Written/Telephonic Notification
 Must be given at least 4 business days before the
application.
 Should identify the intended application date and the
name & phone number of the responsible school
personnel, or for day cares, the owner or operator of
the day care.
Related requirements
 Golf course provisions – blanket posting procedure
 Prior notification for a neighbor - A person whose
property abuts or is adjacent to the property of a
customer of an applicator for hire may receive prior
notification of an application by contacting the
applicator for hire and providing his name, address
and telephone number. Notice shall be provided at
least the day before a scheduled application
 Product information to a neighbor - A person
whose property is adjacent to the property receiving a
lawn care product may request a copy of the material
safety data sheet and the pesticide label for each
product applied.
Pesticide Misuse Complaints
Misuse Case Process
 Department receives formal complaint
 Field representative assigned
 Site visit conducted
 Complainant and respondent interviewed
 Application records checked
 Possible samples collected & lab analysis
 Report submitted to headquarters office for review
 Enforcement determination
Enforcement Determination –
Penalty Matrix
 Points assessed based on Use and Violation Criteria:





Harm or Loss Incurred – (1 to 6 points)
Single Word of Product Involved - (1 to 4 points)
Degree of Responsibility - (2 to 10 points)
Violator’s History for the previous three years - (2 to 7
points)
Violation Type (application vs. product oriented) – (1 to 6
points)
Enforcement Determination –
Penalty Matrix
 Penalty based on assessed points:








6 or less
7 to 13
14 to 16
17 to 19
20 to 21
22 to 25
26 to 29
30 and above
- advisory letter
- warning letter
- $750
- $1,000
- $2,500
- $5,000
- $7,500
- $10,000
 Administrative hearing required for monetary
penalties
2012 Misuse Complaint
Investigation Status – 94 cases
52 cases closed
40 warning letters issued
4 administrative hearings scheduled
• One $750 fine for misuse
• One $500 fine for license violation
• Two $250 fines for Lawncare Act violations
2013 Misuse Complaint
Investigation Status – 117 cases
69 cases closed
35 warning letters issued
18 administrative hearings scheduled
•
•
•
•
•
One $2,500 fine for misuse
One $1,000 fine for misuse
Eight $750 fines for misuse
Six $500 fines for license violations
Two $250 fine for Lawncare Act violations
2014 Misuse Complaint
Investigation Status – 124 y-t-d
40 cases closed – “no misuse”
35 warning letters issued
5 administrative hearings scheduled
• One $750 fine for misuse
• Three $500 fines for license violations
• One $500 fine for Lawn Care Act violation
Nutrients, what’s new & next?
 Gulf Hypoxia
 Nutrient Criteria and Water Quality Standards
36
Hypoxia
 Dissolved oxygen levels
below 2 ppm
 Caused by stratification of
water column and
decomposition of organic
materials (algae)
 Excess algal growth caused
by excess nutrients
37
Hypoxia
Frequency of Occurrence
1985 - 1999
30.0
L.Calcasieu
Atchafalaya R
Sabine L.
Mississippi R
29.5
29.0
28.5
Terrebonne
Bay
>75%
>50%
>25%
<25%
93.5
50 km
92.5
91.5
90.5
89.5
FIGURE 1.1 – Distribution of frequency of occurrence of mid-summer
hypoxia — based on data from Rabalais, Turner and Wiseman from the 60 to
80 station grid repeatedly sampled from 1985-1999 (from #1, figure 2 updated with 98/99’ data)
Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico
Watershed Nutrient Task Force
 Task Force began in late 1990s
 Integrated Assessment
 2001 Action Plan
 Reassessment / USEPA Science Advisory Panel
 2008 Action Plan
Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico
Watershed Nutrient Task Force
 Overall Basin
 Sub-Basin Groups
 UMRESHNC
 Ohio
 Lower Mississippi
 State Level Plans
 identified in 2008 Action Plan
Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico
Watershed Nutrient Task Force
 3 Goals
 Coastal Goal – reduce the five-year running average
areal extend of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone to less
than 5,000 sq. kilometers by the year 2015
 Within Basin Goal – restore and protect the waters of
the 31 states and tribal lands within the
Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin
 Quality of Life Goal – improve the communities and
economic conditions across the Mississippi/Atchafalaya
River Basin
Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico
Watershed Nutrient Task Force
 Principals
 Encourage actions that are voluntary, incentive-based,
practical, and cost-effective;
 Utilize existing programs, including existing state and
federal regulatory mechanisms;
 Follow adaptive management;
 Identify additional funding needs and sources during the
annual agency budget processes;
 Identify opportunities for, and potential barriers to,
innovative and market-based solutions; and
 Provide measurable outcomes as outlined below in the three
goals and eleven actions.
Illinois Strategy Development
 Policy work group made up of various stakeholders
including
 Waste Water Treatment Works representatives
 Environmental advocate organizations
 Agricultural organizations
 State government agency representatives
 University of Illinois researchers
 Federal government representatives
 Meet monthly over a 12 month period beginning in the
summer of 2013
Illinois Strategy Development
 Science Assessment – Dr. Mark David, et al.
 Describes current conditions
 Identifies critical watersheds
 Identifies agricultural practices and nutrient losses by
major land resource area (MLRA)
 Lists possible point source reductions with resulting cost
estimates
 Outlines possible non-point source nutrient losses with
cost estimates
 Lists statewide scenarios with associated costs
 Conclusions
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
 Three subcommittees with representatives from
numerous interest groups –



Agricultural non-point sources
Urban point source
Urban non-point sources
 Met various times to draft specific strategy chapters
Illinois Strategy Development
 Goals and Milestones
 GOAL = 45% reduction in the annual loading of nitrate-
nitrogen and phosphorus compared to 1980-1996
(baseline conditions)
 Milestones


Nitrate-nitrogen
Phosphorus
15% by 2025
25% by 2025
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
 Agriculture Subcommittee
 Representatives from numerous interest groups





Agriculture
Environmental NGOs
Waste water organizations
State and federal government
University researchers
 Met three times as a subcommittee
 Provided comments on a draft agriculture chapter twice
before the document was distributed to the entire policy
work group
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
 Science Assessment – Dr. David, et al
 Agriculture interest groups should be certainly
complemented for their leadership in the development
and implementation of:
 CBMP’s KIC 2025 initiative
 NREC
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
Point Source Strategies
 TMDLs and Waste Load Allocations for point sources
 NPDES Permit Limits – 1 mg/l total phosphorus
 Watershed Planning Efforts
 Water Quality Standards
Non-Point Source Strategies –
Nitrate-N
 Reducing N rate
 Nitrification inhibitor
 Split applications
 Cover crops
 Bioreactors
 Wetlands
 Buffers
 Perennial/energy crops
Non-Point Source Strategies –
Total P
 Convert to reduced, mulch or no-till
 Reducing P rate on field with high P soil test
 Cover crops
 Wetlands
 Buffers
 Perennial/energy crops
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
 Education and Outreach recommendations focus on
the 4 Rs of nutrient management
 Right fertilizer source at the
 Right rate at the
 Right time in the
 Right place
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
 Economic strategy options include:
 A discussion of the industry’s KIC 2025 initiative,
 The NREC program,
 Other existing state and federal programs, and
 Limitations of existing funding and the need for new
funding sources
Illinois Statewide Nutrient Loss
Reduction Strategy
 Next Steps –
 Currently revising the document in response to
stakeholder committee comments
 October 15 -- Revised draft to be released for 30-day
public comment period
 End of the calendar year – Finalized strategy
document submitted to USEPA Region 5
We Cannot Afford this Perception..
 Pesticide licensure requirements
 2014 Pesticide Misuse Complaints
 Nutrient Management Issues & the Loss
Reduction Strategy
Questions……….