New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 30 - PESTICIDE CONTROL CODE
Subchapter 10 - PESTICIDE USE
Section 7:30-10.6 - Aerial application of pesticides

Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 7:30-10.6

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024

(a) All agricultural aircraft operations in New Jersey shall comply with those parts of 14 CFR Part 137, Agricultural Aircraft Operations, not covered in this section. In the case of conflict, a regulation of 14 CFR Part 137, Agricultural Aircraft Operations shall take precedence over any of this section.

1. An agricultural aircraft operator may be required to provide proof of current licensing as an agricultural aircraft operator in order to obtain a New Jersey pesticide applicator license.

(b) The pilot of an agricultural aircraft shall, prior to any pesticide application, learn and confirm:

1. The boundaries and exact location of the target area(s); and

2. The identity of non-target areas and safety hazards located on or adjacent to the target area.

(c) Spray and spreading equipment shall be thoroughly rinsed after each agricultural aircraft operation, except when the next application will be made using the same pesticide or, if another pesticide is to be used, it is compatible with that previously in the equipment and will not result in illegal residues or significant risk of injury or damage when applied to the new target site.

(d) During pesticide application, the flow and mixture of the pesticide(s) shall be uniform and applied with spray or spreading equipment suited for the pesticide(s) used. Application equipment shall be properly calibrated, according to the manufacturers' specification for the equipment utilized, for the specific type of pesticide application being performed and proof of this proper calibration shall be maintained by the aerial pesticide applicator business and be provided, upon request, to the Department.

(e) For interpretation of (d) above, participation of the individual aircraft in the Operation SAFE program, or its equivalent, as determined by the Department, shall presume proper equipment calibration; providing, the type of application(s) for which calibrated remains the same and the equipment set-up is not modified from that determined to be the most efficient under Operation SAFE, or its equivalent, as determined by the Department.

(f) Participation of each aerial pesticide applicator business in the Operation SAFE program, or its equivalent, as determined by the Department, shall be mandatory; providing, the program addresses the type of application to be performed and providing the program is offered within New Jersey and for a sufficient time period to allow this participation.

(g) Aircraft of the exact type and conformation, including, but not limited to, the application equipment utilized, shall also be considered to be properly calibrated if set-up to the specification determined from Operation SAFE, or its equivalent, as determined by the Department, to be the most efficient for that type aircraft; provided, this extension provision shall only apply to aircraft owned and operated by the aerial pesticide applicator business that has calibrated at least one of each type of aircraft under Operation SAFE or its equivalent, as determined by the Department.

(h) The Department may require full participation of all aerial application aircraft if experience in working with the Operation SAFE program, or its equivalent, as determined by the Department, shows the need, as determined by the Department, to require the participation of each aircraft regardless of sameness of conformation.

(i) All aerial spray or spreading equipment shall be free of leaks and shall have a positive shutoff system to prevent leaking and dissemination of pesticide on any non-target areas over which the flight is made.

(j) The shape of the tank or hopper of the spray or spreading equipment shall be such as to allow the complete drainage during flight and on the ground.

(k) Any emergency or accidental release of pesticide(s) from the aerial application or auxiliary equipment shall be subject to the reporting provisions of 7:30-9.17.

(l) All pesticides applied aerially as liquids, in liquid carriers, or as dusts shall be released within 15 feet above the target, except for applications to forests and/or trees, such application height shall be within 50 feet above the target, and except where obstructions in or adjacent to the target would endanger the safety of the pilot while applying pesticides at that altitude.

(m) All pesticide applied aerially as dry granules or pellets shall be released within 40 feet above the target, except where obstructions in or adjacent to the target would endanger the safety of the pilot while applying pesticides at that altitude.

(n) (Reserved)

(o) Aerial pesticide application for non-agricultural purposes may be performed on application sites of less than three acres provided the application site is part of a larger property or contiguous properties, which together make up three or more acres, and for which the owner's or owners' consent has been obtained. Consent may be verbal except when an occupied dwelling is within 100 feet of the target spray block. If such an occupied dwelling is within 100 feet of the target spray block, consent shall be in writing.

1. The written consent agreement shall include at a minimum:
i. The date of agreement;

ii. The location or designation of the consenting owner's property; and

iii. The signature of the owner of the consenting owner's property.

2. Consent shall remain valid until withdrawn.

3. Any consenting owner may withdraw consent by notifying, in writing, the party who requested the consent. Consent may be withdrawn at the end of the calendar year, or may be withdrawn at any time following a pesticide misapplication involving the consenting owner's property, cited under this chapter. Upon such notification, the previous consent shall be invalidated.

4. Copies of all written consent agreements shall be maintained by the aerial pesticide applicator or applicator business for three years.

5. The written consent agreements shall be immediately provided to the Department, upon request.

(p) Aerial pesticide application to an agricultural commodity may be performed on any size field; providing, the field being sprayed is part of a larger property of three or more acres wholly owned or controlled by the person contracting for the application.

(q) No pesticide shall be applied by aircraft within 300 feet horizontally of the premises of schools, hospitals, nursing homes, houses of religious worship, or any building, other than a private residence, which is used for business or social activities, if either the premise or the building is occupied by people, except:

1. Pesticide application within 100 feet of a building used for an agricultural business shall be allowed; providing, only a general use pesticide is applied and warning is given prior to application so that doors and/or windows on the building are closed and the occupants thereof allowed time to vacate the building.

(r) No pesticide shall be directly sprayed by aircraft on the right-of-way of a public road, except when the right-of-way is included as the target site.

(s) No pesticide shall be deposited by aircraft within 100 feet of any private residence unless the aerial pesticide applicator and/or applicator business has written consent of an inhabitant of said private residence of legal age. The aerial applicator or applicator business may obtain the written consent directly, or the party who is contracting for the services of an aerial applicator business may obtain the written consent and forward it to the aerial applicator or applicator business for record keeping purposes. The consent agreement shall include:

1. The date of agreement;

2. The time period for which the consent is valid;

3. The location or designation of the private residence; and

4. The signature of the consenting inhabitant of the private residence.
i. Any consenting inhabitant may withdraw consent by notifying, in writing, the party which requested the consent. Consent may be withdrawn at the end of the calendar year or at any time following a pesticide misapplication involving the consenting inhabitant's property, cited under this chapter. Upon such notification, the previous consent shall be invalidated.

ii. Copies of all consent agreements shall be maintained by the aerial pesticide applicator and/or applicator business for three years; and

iii. Such copies shall be immediately provided, upon request, to the Department.

(t) No person may aerially apply any broad spectrum pesticide for non-agricultural purposes except for the following:

1. Pest control where the Department determines, with recommendations from Rutgers University, that no practical alternative is available.
i. If the Department determines that Rutgers University is unable to provide such recommendations, the Department may seek other expert advice as necessary;

2. Pest control where it can be shown that the pest has reached a stage of development, or where population pressure is such, that any non-broad spectrum pesticide is ineffective;

3. Environmental, health, or agricultural emergencies, as defined below:
i. "Agricultural emergency" for the purposes of this section means an occurrence of any pest, whether through population growth beyond economic injury levels, or through introduction of a foreign or exotic pest, which presents a significant risk of harm or injury to any agricultural commodity, as determined by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and/or the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in concurrence with the Department.

ii. "Environmental emergency" for the purposes of this section means the occurrence of any pest which presents a significant risk of harm or injury to the environment, including, but not limited to, exotic or foreign pests which may need preventive quarantine measures to avert or prevent that risk, as determined by the Department in concurrence with Rutgers University, and/or the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.

iii. "Health emergency" for the purposes of this section means the occurrence of any pest which presents a significant risk of harm or injury to the public health as determined by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services in concurrence with the Department; and

4. Experimental work pursuant to 7:30-2.3.

(u) Where it has been determined that a situation described in (t)1 or 2 exists, then the applicator or applicator business shall petition the Department at least two working days prior to the proposed application for approval to use a broad spectrum pesticide.

1. Once the Department has confirmed that a situation described in (t)1 exists, then no further petition shall be needed to use broad spectrum pesticides aerially, until the following calendar year, or until a practical alternative becomes available earlier than the end of the calendar year.

2. Situations such as those described in (t)2 above shall be reviewed by the Department on a case-by-case basis, unless it can be determined that the pest population or development has resulted in a situation which is more general throughout larger areas of the State. Should this occur, the Department shall announce the situation and any limitations, geographic or otherwise, to the aerial use of broad spectrum pesticides.

(v) If it can be shown that an emergency application must take place without delay, the applicator or applicator business shall inform the Department of the application and provide justification for the application satisfactory to the Department no later than one working day after the application takes place.

(w) Where an application takes place pursuant to (t) above, and compliance with community or area-wide notification requirements pursuant to 7:30-9.10 is not possible due to the timing of the application, the applicator shall request a waiver from the provisions of 7:30-9.10, pursuant to 7:30-9.10(c).

(x) No person shall apply any pesticide by aerial application equipment, unless the pesticide is specifically labeled for aerial application.

(y) No person shall be exempt from any of the provisions of this section except under these conditions:

1. During an emergency proclaimed by the Commissioner, specific aerial applicators may be exempted from all, or from specific regulations as deemed necessary by the Department to handle the emergency situation.

2. Any State, Federal, or public agency or aerial applicator under contractual agreement with such an agency, when conducting a pest control operation, shall be exempted from (l) through (o) and (q) through (s) above.

3. The provisions of (s) above shall not apply to any private residence that is occupied by the person contracting to have the spray performed and which is located on a property which includes the target site.

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