The State DEC is proposing prohibiting the use of the pesticide, glyphosate, on state property.
State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said the proposed regulation is to protect public health and environmental resources from exposure to this pesticide. In addition, as part of the proposed regulation, DEC will collect new data to help determine where and how much glyphosate products are used on State property, as well as the potential impacts these pesticides may have.
The proposed regulation, required by a recent amendment to New York’s Environmental Conservation Law, would prohibit State departments and agencies, public benefit corporations, and their contractors and subcontractors, from applying glyphosate on State properties under most circumstances. Critical use exemptions in the law include maintenance of critical infrastructure, management of roadside vegetation to ensure public safety, habitat management for the control of invasive species and pests of significant public health importance, noxious weeds injurious to ecosystem health, protection of critical native plant species, and research of glyphosate alternatives. The use of glyphosate under the appropriate circumstances and conditions is highly effective in meeting these control needs. However, under the proposed regulation, glyphosate can only be used on these State properties when there is no actual or significant threat of direct human exposure.
Comments are being accepted on the draft regulation until August 22, 2022. The DEC is also holding a virtual public hearing at 1:00 p.m., August 17. The link for more information on how to participate in the hearing can be found at: https://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/125410.html.
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