Code of Massachusetts Regulations
333 CMR - PESTICIDE BOARD
Title 333 CMR 13.00 - Standards For Application
Section 13.04 - Application by Aircraft
Universal Citation: 333 MA Code of Regs 333.13
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1) Certification Requirement. No person shall apply pesticides by aircraft unless certified by the Department in Category 34 - Aerial.
(2) Permit Requirement. Except as provided for below, all who elect to control pests by the use of pesticides applied by aircraft shall do so only after receiving a permit issued by the Department. The Department shall issue such permit in those cases in which the applicant presents to the Department a plan acceptable to the Department and in compliance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 132B.
(3) Exemptions from Permit Requirement. The following classes of applications by aircraft are exempted from the provisions of 333 CMR 13.04(2):
(a) Those carried out on lands owned or controlled by the DCR and under the authority of M.G.L. c. 132;
(b) Those carried out in the conduct of mosquito control programs approved by the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board;
(c) Those made to state, county, and municipal lands under the authority granted to the public agencies having control of such lands, so long as these applications are designed to confine said applications to such public lands; and
(d) Agricultural Applications as defined.
(4) Notification for Aerial Applications. With the exception of Agricultural Applications, no applications of pesticides by aircraft shall be made unless the following conditions have been met:
(a) Notification of the proposed application has been given by the Contracting Entity to the public residing on adjacent lands by publication of a notice in a newspaper of general circulation normally used by the municipality for legal notices not later than two days before the application and no sooner than ten days before application. The notice shall include all of the following information:
1. Purpose of application;
2. Method of application;
3. Area of application;
4. Name and EPA Registration Number of the pesticide product to be applied;
5. Anticipated commencement date and time of application;
6. Phone number of a contact person from whom additional information can be obtained;
7. Location where the public may view maps delineating the area of application; and
8. Locations where materials, used for marking areas of exclusion, will be distributed.
(b) Notification of the proposed application has been given to the Department by the Contracting Entity at least two Department business days prior to the proposed application. Said notice shall include but not be limited to information required by 333 CMR 13.04(4)(a)1. through 8.
(c) Notification of proposed application has been given by the Contracting Entity to the Local Superintendent. Said notice shall include but not be limited to information required by 333 CMR 13.04(4)(a)1. through 8.
(5) Use and Maintenance of Maps. The site of each application of pesticides by aircraft, other than for the production of an agricultural commodity, shall be recorded on a U.S.G.S. topographical or other map as specified by the Department, which shall be maintained by the applicator or his or her employer for a period of three years and shall be made available to the Department upon request.
(6) Aerial Applications Within 150 Feet of a Public Way. No aerial application of pesticides shall occur within 150 feet of persons or vehicles transiting a public way which is owned or maintained by a government entity.
(a)
Exemptions. 333 CMR 13.04(6) shall not apply to Wide Area Applications to which one or more of the following applies:
1. The Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation has certified that the application is necessary to contain an infestation of a recently introduced pest;
2. The Forest Health Program Director or Local Superintendent has determined that the application is necessary to control Public Nuisance Pests; or
3. The Commissioner of the Department of Agricultural Resources has certified that the application is necessary to contain an infestation of a pest, which is a significant threat to agriculture.
(b)
Exemption. 333 CMR 13.04(6) shall not apply to mosquito-adulticide applications approved by the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board.
(7) Exemptions for Aerial Application of Mosquito Larvacides. Mosquito larvicide applications made by mosquito control programs approved by the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board are exempt from 333 CMR 13.04(4) and (6) if all of the following conditions have been met:
(a) Notice of the proposed application has been published in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected municipality between February 1st and March 1st of the year the application is intended to be made. The notice shall include the following information:
1. Purpose of control program;
2. Method of application;
3. Area of application if known;
4. Name and EPA Registration Number of the pesticide product to be applied; and
5. Phone number of a contact person from whom additional information can be obtained.
Within seven calendar days of publication, a copy of the notice shall be provided to the Department and the Board of Health in the municipality where the application is to be made.
(b) Notice of the proposed application has been provided to the Department and the Board of Health in the municipality where the application is to be made prior to the application. The notice shall include the following information:
1. Purpose of control program;
2. Method of application;
3. Area of application;
4. Date and time of application;
5. Name and EPA Registration Number of the pesticide product to be applied; and
6. Name of the applicator and phone number of a contact person from whom additional information can be obtained.
(8) Emergency Provision. In the event of an emergency situation requiring immediate application of pesticides by aircraft, the Department may waive or alter any or all of the provisions of 333 CMR 13.04.
(9) Aerial Agricultural Applications. The following conditions shall apply to fixed wing Agricultural Applications of pesticides:
(a) The Department may approve agricultural land for fixed wing aerial application on an annual basis. No aerial Agricultural Application of pesticides shall be made by fixed wing aircraft unless a valid permit has been issued by the Department for the field to be treated. The Department shall issue permits only in those cases where the Department has determined that such fixed wing aerial applications will not cause or will not likely cause injury to humans and will not cause an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
(b) Prior to issuing such a permit, the Department will assess conditions at the site to be treated in order to determine the likelihood of off-target movement of pesticides applied. Based on this determination, the Department may attach conditions to the permit. The Department shall notify the local board of health of permit application(s) and any conditions attached to the permit.
(c) Unless waived by the Department for good cause, permit applications must be received at least 21 calendar days prior to the proposed start of applications and must contain the following information:
1. The name, address and phone number of the manager or farmer of the property;
2. A Town/City Assessor map, if available, or another map acceptable to the Department provided that the map clearly identifies the field and Protected Areas;
3. The crop planted or to be planted in the field;
4. The number of acres of the field; and
5. Names and EPA Registration Numbers of pesticide products to be applied during that season.
(d) Aerial Agricultural Application of pesticides for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity shall be made subject to the following conditions:
1. No aerial Agricultural Application shall be made with ultra low volume technique.
2. Aerial Agricultural Application shall cease if there is visible drift to non-target areas. Application shall not resume until weather conditions or operating conditions have changed so as to preclude drift.
3. No aerial Agricultural Application of liquid formulation pesticides shall be made to any area of an agricultural field if the area to be treated is within 150 feet of a Protected Area, unless the owner(s) or manager(s) of the property containing the Protected Area has submitted a written waiver to the farmer or manager of the site to be treated.
4. No aerial Agricultural Application of granular formulation pesticides shall be made to agricultural land if the area to be treated is within 50 feet of a Protected Area, unless the owner(s) or manager(s) of the property containing the Protected Area has submitted a written waiver to the farmer or manager of the site to be treated.
5. No aerial Agricultural Application of a liquid formulation pesticide shall be made within 400 feet of a public surface water supply, not to include tributaries thereto.
6. No aerial Agricultural Application of a granular formulation pesticide shall be made within 250 feet of a public surface water supply, not to include tributaries thereto.
7. No aerial Agricultural Application of pesticides shall be made to an area of an agricultural field if the area to be treated is within 50 feet of adjacent non-agricultural property unless the owner(s) or manager(s) of the abutting property has submitted a written waiver to the farmer or manager of the site to be treated.
(e) Unless the pilot or others are endangered, pesticide applicators for aerial Agricultural Applications shall not conduct turns over adjacent Protected Areas and water bodies not located within the confines of the agricultural site.
(f) Unless the pilot or others are endangered, pesticide applicators for Agricultural Applications shall make swaths parallel to roads, water bodies and Protected Areas.
(g) No aerial Agricultural Application of a pesticide for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity shall be made to a site within 500 feet of a Protected Area unless notice of the application is given by the posting of a sign. All signs posted pursuant to 333 CMR 13.04(g) shall meet with the following requirements:
1. Be posted at conspicuous points but in no case less than every 200 feet and at every principal entrance fronting a public road;
2. Be posted between two and 24 hours prior to the application;
3. Be removed no sooner than 48 hours after the application and no sooner than the expiration of the Restricted Entry Interval (REI) stated on the label instructions under the heading "Agricultural Use Requirements;
4. Be removed no later than 48-hours after the expiration of the Restricted Entry Interval (REI) stated on the label instructions under the heading "Agricultural Use Requirements;
5. Have a background color that contrasts with red. The words "Danger" and "Peligro," plus "Pesticides" and "Pesticidas" shall be at the top of the sign, and the words "Keep Out" and "No Entre" shall be at the bottom of the sign. Letters for all words must be clearly legible. A circle containing an upraised hand on the left and a stern face on the right must be at the center of the sign. The inside of the circle must be red, except that the hand and a large portion of the face must be in a shade that contrasts with red. The length of the hand must be at least twice the height of the smallest letters. The length of the face must be only slightly smaller than the hand. Additional information such as the name of the pesticide and the date of application may appear on the warning sign if it does not detract from the appearance of the sign or change the meaning of the required information; and
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