State Senator Carl Marcellino (R, Syosset), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation, announced that his legislation, Senate Bill 2543-D, requiring 48-hour advance notice of pesticide spraying was unanimously passed by the Environmental Conservation Committee moving it to the Senate floor.

"I have amended my bill to apply to all New York State counties and the City of New York. Each county will be able to determine for themselves whether or not to opt-in to the Neighbor Notification Legislation," said Marcellino.

Marcellino noted that support for his legislation has been growing throughout New York State, especially on Long Island. "People across the State are concerned about the long-term effects of pesticides. Many people want to close their windows, cover their children's play equipment and keep their children and pets indoors. These precautions make sense, but are impossible without advance warning. Neighbor notification gives people the prior notice they need to prevent exposure," said Marcellino.

"Notifying neighbors in advance of pesticide spraying is a basic, common sense approach to avoiding unnecessary exposure," stated Marcellino. "Pesticide applicators are now required to tell their customers when, where and what they are going to spray - this bill requires that the same information be provided to neighbors. The neighbors should be able to take the same precautions as the applicator's client," said Marcellino.

Under the provisions of the bill, New York State counties and the City of New York are afforded the opportunity to adopt local laws requiring notification for applications sprayed through the air with pressurized high volume equipment. "They cannot make up their own program," said Marcellino. "They have to opt-in to ours. We think that it is a good one and we feel that every county should opt-in."

This notice would include the name of the applicator, the address and the date of the application and a description of the pesticide being sprayed. As a standard precautionary statement, a rain date must also be provided.

Applicators would have to notify neighbors within 15 feet of ground or shrubs that are sprayed and within 50 yards of spraying trees over five feet high. The bill also requires homeowners who apply pesticides to their lawns to post the same small flags that commercial applicators are now required to use. Combined, these requirements provide the information everyone needs to avoid exposure.

The Long Island Association was opposed to this legislation until only recently. After hearing about the Neighbor Notification Legislation for years, they have now agreed that it is a good idea. "A lot of their members are applicators and business people," said Senator Marcellino. "That is why they are opposed. Now the Long Island Association is with us," said Marcellino.

"These new requirements create a simple and easy policy of shared information," said Marcellino. "This legislation has been a priority of mine for the past four years and I hope we can make it law before the end of this year so people have a chance to avoid unnecessary exposure to pesticides."