In an action brought by a major Latino farmworker union, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California overturned efforts by EPA to delay the implementation of the Certified Pesticide Applicator rule. In January 2017, the EPA determined to revise the rule and in the interim sought to postpone its effective date from March 2017 to March 2020. The judge ruled that the delay would cause the plaintiffs to suffer injury and that EPA failed to comply with the Administrative Procedures Act. The Court annulled the rulemakings postponing the rule and reinstated the original timeline for implementation.
This decision represents a major victory for agricultural and pesticide workers. Of these revisions, the most significant entail strengthening regulations on certified applicators. Certification is required for the use of restricted use pesticides (RUPs). RUPs are known to be highly toxic and responsible for acute toxicity issues in persons that apply and handle them. The rule requires states to update their certification plans in accordance with the updated regulations, and to combat poisoning issues and promote worker safety, establishes for the first time a nationwide minimum age for certifying pesticide applicators. The rule mandates that people be at least 18 years old to become certified, with a provision that allows family members at least 16 years old to become certified, effective only on the certified applicator’s family farm.