Consultation on the Implementation of EU Pesticides Legislation

(Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides)(Directive 2009/128/EC)

Summary and Government Response

Summary

• Training – will alter with changes for granting, renewal

and withdrawal of certificates.– Grandfather rights / exemptions will be

revoked

• CPD – Continuing Professional Development - will be

enhanced as part of the legislation

Summary

• Sale – Continue current practice of selling

professional products only to professional users with a users certificate and provide the necessary information as requested

Summary

• Approved Code of Practice (ACOP)– will be reviewed in line with the legislation for

Information and Awareness

Summary

• Inspection of Equipment– A system will be implemented based on the

current National Sprayer Test Scheme (NSTS) but will be mandatory for all sprayers excluding Hand-held / Knapsack

– It requires that the interval between inspections shall not exceed 5 years until 2020 and shall not exceed 3 years thereafter.

Summary

• Protection of Water – The Water Framework Directive (WFD) will

continue to provide the necessary requirements, with a view to reduce the levels of pesticides found in water courses

Summary

• Use of Pesticides in Public Access Areas – Continue through current initiatives to use

pesticide products responsibly in these areas

Summary

• Handling and Storage – Continuation of current statutory and

voluntary controls with a view to continual review of container design

– Improve awareness of use of spill / containment devices during filling

Summary

• IPM – Integrated Pest Management– Continue with current system with review of

training schemes and use of CPD

Summary

• Indicators – The UK is well placed to meet this

requirement. We will continue the programme of work to ensure that the UK’s suite of indicators provides the most appropriate basis for determining the impact of measures developed under the Thematic Strategy

.

Summary

• Spray Records– Continue current practice

• Advance Notification– Continue to encourage farmers and spray

operators to develop good relationships with their neighbours

Summary

• Charges – There will be charges made with regard to the

changes discussed, the exact fee structure is yet to be disclosed

DETAIL

Training and Certification (Article 5)

• The Directive requires that Member States ensure access to initial and additional training, and establish systems for certification, for distributors, advisors and professional users of pesticides and that evidence of training will be provided via certification systems that allow for the granting, renewal and withdrawal of certificates.

• The UK already has a comprehensive systems in place in some sectors for initial and additional training, the consultation document explained that the UK’s certification system does not currently satisfy all the elements required by the Directive.

– The current system will widen the UK’s existing training and certification scheme to include currently exempt groups and will cover initial and ongoing training. The legislation will enable the Competent Authority to designate awarding bodies and include provisions for the granting, maintenance and withdrawal of certificates.

– Grandfather rights / letters of exemption will be removed. – Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is favoured as a means of

maintaining competency and assisting those exempt to gain certification

Requirements for Sales of Pesticides (Article 6)

• Article 6 places certain obligations on Member States in respect of the sales of pesticides; requiring the provision of information to purchasers of pesticides and that measures are put in place to restrict the sale of products authorised for professional use to those users who hold a recognised certificate.

• This would require users purchasing professional products to provide a user certificate registration number and pesticide producers would be asked to undertake voluntary / statutory (wording to be confirmed) activity to provide information to distributors of amateur products.

– Responses to the consultation suggested that over 95% of professional pesticides are sold on account. This means that the purchaser is already known to the distributor in the vast majority of cases. Distributors will have four years, between the implementing legislation coming into force in 2011 and the deadline for the imposition of the sales restriction in 2015, in which to determine the certification status of their existing customers. For new customers, this information will need to be obtained before any transactions take place.

Information and Awareness Raising

(Article 7)• Take measures to inform the general public about the risks relating to pesticides and

to promote and facilitate awareness-raising programmes to ensure accurate and balanced information is available to the general public.

• In the UK, there are various existing methods by which the general public may access information on the risks and potential effects of pesticide use.

– We will review the information provided for the public when developing the National Action Plan.

– We will consider the recommendations made by the Approved Code of Practice Adverse Health Effects Surveillance Working Group before making any decisions on future information gathering systems.

– A report is expected in the first half of 2011.

Inspection of Equipment in use

(Article 8)• Article 8 places requirements to the inspection of pesticide application equipment in

professional use. It requires that the interval between inspections shall not exceed 5 years until 2020, and shall not exceed 3 years thereafter. New equipment should be inspected at least once within 5 years after purchase and thereafter at the same interval as other equipment. Article 8 allows discretion of the Member State; in the form of a complete exemption from inspection for handheld applicators and knapsacks sprayers or the application of a different inspection timetable for equipment which meets specific criteria.

– The implementing legislation will require that pesticide application equipment is inspected in accordance with the timetables set out in the Directive. We will apply different timetables to pesticide application equipment that represents a very low scale of use. We will clarify the equipment types and the relevant timetables in the consultation on draft legislation.

– Handheld/knapsack equipment will not be included. Consultation responses highlighted the fact that such equipment can be replaced more cheaply than the cost of testing it.

– Government will appoint a body that meets the appropriate requirements to administer the equipment testing system on a UK wide basis

Protection of Water (Article 11)

• Article 11 requires Member States to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to protect the aquatic environment and drinking water supplies from the adverse impact of pesticides and that these measures are compatible with the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

– We consider that current statutory and voluntary controls and measures relating to use of pesticides and protection of water, if followed, afford a high degree of protection to water resources and cover specific measures detailed in the directive. Water quality monitoring indicates a low risk to public health and the environment from responsible use of pesticides. However, there is scope for improving user practice in the amenity sector.

– The Water Framework Directive will, however, require a reduction in the amount of pesticides detected in surface and ground waters and water abstracted for drinking water purposes.

Use in Specific Areas (Article 12)

• Article 12 requires Member States, having due regard for the necessary hygiene and public health requirements and biodiversity, or the results of relevant risk assessments, to ensure that the use of pesticides is minimised or prohibited in:

– specific areas used by the general public or vulnerable groups (such as public parks and gardens, sports and recreation grounds, school grounds and children’s playgrounds and in the close vicinity of healthcare facilities);

– conservation areas (defined under Annex IV(I)(v) of the Water Framework Directive as being necessary for the protection of habitats and species, where maintenance of the status of the water is an important factor in their protection) and Natura 2000 sites;

– recently treated areas used by or accessible to agricultural workers. Member States are also required to ensure that use of low-risk pesticides and biological controls are considered in the first instance.

– It is not considered necessary to prohibit the use of pesticides in public spaces or conservation areas or to impose new statutory controls on pesticide use in these areas. We believe that the UK can meet its obligations under the Directive through existing statutory and voluntary control measures and by developing additional voluntary guidance.

– The issue of worker exposure to pesticides in recently treated areas is already addressed by the risk assessment carried out by the regulatory authority before granting approval for products.

Handling and Storage (Article 13)

• Article 13 of the Directive requires Member States to adopt specific measures addressing the risks associated with the handling of pesticides, including storage, diluting and mixing the pesticides, cleaning of pesticide application equipment after use, recovery and disposal of tank mixtures, and empty packaging and remnants of pesticides. There are also provisions relating to non-professional use.

– It is believed that existing statutory and voluntary controls address the requirements of the Directive. We will promote awareness of these existing requirements through a combination of additional guidance in the amenity sector and inclusion of the key messages in the training programmes that will be developed as a result of the implementation of the Directive.

– Many stakeholders highlighted the importance of improving container design. This will be taken forward through work to develop recommendations on container design.

– We will maintain the current guideline-based system for store design but look to update it when the guidance on storage is reviewed.

Integrated Pest Management (Article 14)

• Article 14 requires that Member States take all necessary measures to promote low pesticide-input pest management, giving, wherever possible, priority to non-chemical methods, so that professional users of pesticides switch to practices and products with the lowest risk. Member States must establish, or support the establishment of, necessary conditions for the implementation of integrated pest management.

• The consultation responses supplied good evidence of existing practice of Integrated Pest Management principles, particularly in the agriculture and horticulture sectors. IPM is already broadcast through industry Levy (or Development) Boards and Assured Food Standard schemes that serve most major retailers primarily through the use of crop protocols which describe best existing production practice.

• Most training and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) already includes elements on IPM. However, to strengthen the current position, we will review IPM coverage in training and CPD syllabuses to ensure it consistently reflects the general principles outlined

Indicators (Article 15)

• Article 15 requires Member States to: calculate harmonised risk indicators or use existing or new national indicators; identify trends in the use of certain active substances; and identify issues that require attention of examples of good practice to promote the aims of the Directive. They are required to evaluate the results of this to the Commission, other Member States and the public.

– The UK is well placed to meet this requirement. We will continue the programme of work to ensure that the UK’s suite of indicators provides the most appropriate basis for determining the impact of measures developed under the Thematic Strategy.

The Plant Protection Products Regulation

• Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 (the PPP Regulation) is essentially a revision of Directive 91/414 EEC which currently governs the approvals regime for plant protection products with some new elements. The new PPP Regulation will be directly applicable in the following:

– Article 31 which includes an optional provision that could allow future product authorisations to include an obligation to provide advance notice to any neighbours who could be exposed to the spray drift and who have requested to be informed.

– Article 67 which requires that producers, suppliers, distributors, importers, and exporters of plant protection products must keep records of the plant protection products they produce, import, export, store, use or place on the market for at least five years. Professional users of plant protection products shall keep records of the plant protection products they use, for at least three years. They shall make the “relevant information” contained in these records available to the competent authority on request. Third parties may request access to this information by addressing the competent authority.

The Plant Protection Products Regulation

• Spray Records: The requirement in the PPP Regulation to keep a record of information on pesticides and to make relevant information available on request is directly applicable and the Statutory Instrument to support the application of the PPP Regulation in the UK will contain the necessary enforcement provisions. We will continue to require disclosure of pesticide application records (or any other relevant information on pesticides) where we consider this is necessary.

• Advance notification: We do not believe it is appropriate to introduce a statutory requirement for operators to provide advance notice of planned spray operations to members of the public living adjacent to sprayed land. We will continue to encourage farmers and spray operators to develop good relationships with their neighbours

Financing the Pesticides Regime

• The PPP Regulation, the Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides and Regulation (EC) No. 396/2005/EC on maximum residue levels (the MRLs Regulation) all include provisions which allow Member States regulatory authorities to recover the costs of work they carry out under that legislation. Existing government policy is that the full costs of the authorisations scheme and other matters related to use of pesticides should be recovered by fees or charges.

– Proposals are being developed for revising the current fees and charges regime to take account of the new obligations imposed by the EU legislation. The draft statutory instrument setting out the proposed changes will be subject to further consultation later this year.

Weblink for the Consultation Document

• http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/pesticides/101215-pesticides-condoc-response.pdf

Contacts

• Ian Gower Associates– ian@pesticides-safety-training.co.uk– 07946 525298– 01622 675130

• Field House Assessments– info@fha.uk.com– 01580 860444