Pesticides: toxic air contaminant: control measures.

(1) Existing law requires the Director of Pesticide Regulation, upon completion of an evaluation of a pesticide, to prepare a report on the health effects of any pesticide determined to be a toxic air contaminant that poses a present or potential hazard to human health due to airborne emission from its use, as specified. Existing law requires this report to be made available to the public, as specified. Existing law also requires the director to determine, in consultation with specified agencies, the need for and appropriate degree of control measures for each pesticide listed as a toxic air contaminant. Existing law defines toxic air contaminant to include those pesticides that have been identified as hazardous air pollutants pursuant to federal law. This bill would require the director's written determination regarding control measures for each pesticide and any formal written comments made by consulting agencies be made available to the public. The bill, for each pesticide for which a risk assessment has been completed that has been identified by the director as a toxic air contaminant based on its listing as a federally identified hazardous air pollutant, would require the director, in consultation with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the State Air Resources Board, and the air pollution control or air quality management districts in the affected counties, to determine the need for and appropriate degree of control measures, as specified. The bill would require the director's written determination and any formal written comments made by consulting agencies in regard to control measures for these pesticides to be made available to the public. (2) Existing law requires, for those pesticides for which a need for control measures has been determined, the director, in consultation with specified agencies, to develop control measures designed to reduce emissions sufficiently so the source will not expose the public to the levels of exposure that may cause or contribute to significant adverse health effects. Existing law requires, after a public hearing, the director to adopt, by regulation, control measures, including application of the best practicable control techniques for those pesticides for which a need has been determined. This bill would require the director to follow specified consultation procedures and would require the director, within 2 years of the determination of the need for control measures, as specified, to adopt control measures to protect human health. The bill, if the director is unable to adopt control measures to protect human health within 2 years of the determination of the need for control measures, would require the director to submit a specified report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature setting forth the reasons that requirement has not been met and to update that report, as specified. The bill would require, with respect to any pesticide for which a determination of the need for control measures was made before January 1, 2014, that the 2-year period described above commence on January 1, 2014. (3) This bill also would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.