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Daily News Archive
From November 27, 2006                                                                                                        

Another New York County Pushing for Pesticide Notification
(Beyond Pesticides, November 27, 2006)
New York’s Ulster County is voting on whether neighbors should be alerted when commercial lawn pesticides are being applied to nearby properties. The Ulster county Neighbor Notification Law will require commercial pesticide applicators to provide 48 hours written notice to anyone living within 150 feet or on adjacent properties of the areas to be sprayed.

First passed as a voluntary state-wide measure in 2000, the law has already been adopted in eight counties as well as the five boroughs of New York City. If the measure passes, Ulster joins Rockland, Albany, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Monroe, Erie, and Tompkins counties.

Ulster residents feel that with this information, they will better be able to ensure the safety and health of their community. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of protection," said Helena Baldyga of the New Paltz-based Cancer Awareness Coalition. Pass the law, and those near pesticides will know when to keep children and pets away from the chemicals, she said.

Currently, Ulster has a voluntary notification registry, which alerts registered neighbors by phone, fax, mail or email 24 hours in advance of a pesticide application. Some prefer this to the mandatory system, which puts more limitations on who may be alerted. "Every time the guy across the street [hires a company to] spray pesticides, we're notified," Woodstock resident Annie Mullen-Patrick said. Under the mandatory law, that would no longer happen because Patrick does not live within the 150 feet required by the Neighbor Notification Law. However, the law will require applicators to consistently inform nearby residents, which is expected to increase the number of notifications.

The Legislature is set to vote on the law Dec. 6.

To find out your state’s pesticide policies, click here

Source: Poughkeepsie Journal