Pesticide applicator certification

Scope

EPA 40 CFR 171 establishes federal standards for the certification and recertification of applicators of RUPs, and requirements for pesticide applicator certification plans administered by state, tribal, and federal agencies. The standards address the requirements for:

• Certification and recertification of applicators using RUPs,
• Certified applicators supervising the use of RUPs by noncertified applicators, and
• Noncertified persons using RUPs under the direct supervision of a certified applicator.

Regulatory citations

• 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq. — Environmental pesticide control
• 40 CFR 152.3 — Definitions
• 40 CFR 171 — Certification of pesticide applicators

Key definitions

• Agricultural commodity: Any plant, fungus, or algae, or part thereof, or any animal or animal product, produced by a person (including, but not limited to, farmers, ranchers, vineyardists, plant propagators, Christmas tree growers, aquaculturists, floriculturists, orchardists, foresters, or other comparable persons) primarily for sale, consumption, propagation, or other use by man or animals.
• Agency: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), unless otherwise specified.
• Application and applying: The dispersal of a pesticide on, in, at, or directed toward a target site.
• Applicator: Ans any individual using a restricted use pesticide. An applicator may be certified as a commercial or private applicator as defined in FIFRA or may be a noncertified applicator as defined in Part 171.
• Calibration: Measurement of dispersal or output of application equipment and adjustment of such equipment to establish a specific rate of dispersal and, if applicable, droplet or particle size of a pesticide, and/or equalized dispersal pattern.
• Certification: A certifying authority’s issuance, pursuant to Part 171, of authorization to a person to use or supervise the use of restricted use pesticides.
• Certified applicator: Any individual who is certified under FIFRA Section 136i as authorized to use or supervise the use of any pesticide which is classified for restricted use. Any applicator who holds or applies registered pesticides or uses dilutions of registered pesticides consistent with 7 U.S.C. 136 paragraph (ee), only to provide a service of controlling pests without delivering any unapplied pesticide to any person so served is not deemed to be a seller or distributor of pesticides under 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.
• Certifying authority: The agency, or a state, tribal, or federal agency that issues restricted use pesticide applicator certifications pursuant to a certification plan approved by the agency under Part 171.
• Commercial applicator: An applicator (whether or not the applicator is a private applicator with respect to some uses) who uses or supervises the use of any pesticide which is classified for restricted use for any purpose or on any property other than as provided private applicator purposes. See the certification categories listed at 171.101.
• Compatibility: The extent to which a pesticide can be combined with other chemicals without causing undesirable results.
• Competency: Having the practical knowledge, skills, experience, and judgment necessary to perform functions associated with restricted use pesticide application without causing unreasonable adverse effects, where the nature and degree of competency required relate directly to the nature of the activity and the degree of independent responsibility.
• Dealership: Any establishment owned or operated by a restricted use pesticide retail dealer where restricted use pesticides are distributed or sold.
• Fumigant: A restricted use pesticide that bears labeling designating it as a fumigant.
• Fumigation: The use of a fumigant.
• Immediate family: Familial relationships limited to the spouse, parents, stepparents, foster parents, father-in-law, mother-in-law, children, stepchildren, foster children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and first cousins. “First cousin” means the child of a parent’s sibling, i.e., the child of an aunt or uncle.
• Indian country: Means: (1) All land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and, including rights-of-way running through the reservation. (2) All dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a State. (3) All Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same.
• Indian Tribe or Tribe: Any Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community included in the list of Tribes published by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act.
• Institutional use: Any application of a pesticide in or around any property or facility that functions to provide a service to the general public or to public or private organizations, including but not limited to: (1) Hospitals and nursing homes. (2) Schools other than preschools and day care facilities. (3) Museums and libraries. (4) Sports facilities. (5) Office buildings.
• Mishap: An event that adversely affects man or the environment and that is related to the use or presence of a pesticide, whether the event was unexpected or intentional.
• Nontarget organism: Any plant, animal or other organism other than the target pests that a pesticide is intended to affect.
• Noncertified applicator: Any person who is not certified in accordance with Part 171 to use or supervise the use of restricted use pesticides in the category appropriate to the type of application being conducted in the pertinent jurisdiction, but who is using restricted use pesticides under the direct supervision of a person certified as a commercial or private applicator in accordance with Part 171.
• Ornamental: Trees, shrubs, flowers, and other plantings intended primarily for aesthetic purposes in and around habitations, buildings and surrounding grounds, including residences, parks, streets, and commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings.
• Personal protective equipment: Devices and apparel that are worn to protect the body from contact with pesticides or pesticide residues, including, but not limited to, coveralls, chemical-resistant suits, chemical-resistant gloves, chemical-resistant footwear, respirators, chemical-resistant aprons, chemical-resistant headgear, and protective eyewear.
• Pesticide: For the purposes of 40 CFR 152 (and therefore also Part 171) means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest, or intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, other than any article that: (1) Is a new animal drug under FFDCA sec. 201(w), or (2) Is an animal drug that has been determined by regulation of the Secretary of Health and Human Services not to be a new animal drug, or (3) Is an animal feed under FFDCA sec. 201(x) that bears or contains any substances described by paragraph (s) (1) or (2) of this section.
• Pesticide product: For the purposes of 40 CFR 152 (and therefore also 40 CFR 171) means a pesticide in the particular form (including composition, packaging, and labeling) in which the pesticide is, or is intended to be, distributed or sold. The term includes any physical apparatus used to deliver or apply the pesticide if distributed or sold with the pesticide.
• Practical knowledge: The possession of pertinent facts and comprehension sufficient to properly perform functions associated with use of restricted use pesticides, including properly responding to reasonably foreseeable problems and situations.
• Principal place of business: The principal location, either residence or office, where a person conducts a business that involves the use of restricted use pesticides. A person who applies restricted use pesticides in more than one State or area of Indian country may designate a location within a State or area of Indian country as its principal place of business for that State or area of Indian country.
• Private applicator: A certified applicator who uses or supervises the use of any pesticide which is classified for restricted use for purposes of producing any agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by the applicator or the applicator’s employer or (if applied without compensation other than trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities) on the property of another person.
• Regulated pest: A particular species of pest specifically subject to Tribal, State or Federal regulatory restrictions, regulations, or control procedures intended to protect the hosts, man and/or the environment.
• Residential use: Use of a pesticide directly: (1) On humans or pets, (2) In, on, or around any structure, vehicle, article, surface, or area associated with the household, including but not limited to areas such as non-agricultural outbuildings, non-commercial greenhouses, pleasure boats and recreational vehicles, or (3) In any preschool or day care facility.
• Restricted use pesticide (RUP): A pesticide that is classified for restricted use under the provisions of section 3(d) of FIFRA and 40 CFR 152, subpart I.
• Restricted use pesticide retail dealer: Any person who distributes or sells restricted use pesticides to any person, excluding transactions solely between persons who are pesticide producers, registrants, wholesalers, or retail sellers, acting only in those capacities.
• Toxicity: The property of a pesticide that refers to the degree to which the pesticide, and its degradates and metabolites, are able to cause an adverse physiological effect on an organism.
• Under the direct supervision of a certified applicator: Unless otherwise prescribed by its labeling, a pesticide shall be considered to be applied under the direct supervision of a certified applicator if it is applied by a competent person acting under the instructions and control of a certified applicator who is available if and when needed, even though such certified applicator is not physically present at the time and place the pesticide is applied.
• Use: As in “to use a pesticide,” means any of the following: (1) Pre-application activities involving mixing and loading the pesticide. (2) Applying the pesticide, including, but not limited to, supervising the use of a pesticide by a noncertified applicator. (3) Other pesticide-related activities, including, but not limited to, transporting or storing pesticide containers that have been opened, cleaning equipment, and disposing of excess pesticides, spray mix, equipment wash waters, pesticide containers, and other pesticide-containing materials.
• Use-specific instructions: The information and requirements specific to a particular pesticide product or work site that an applicator needs in order to use the pesticide in accordance with applicable requirements and without causing unreasonable adverse effects.

Summary of requirements

• Check to see if the state, territory, and area of Indian country where you make RUP applications has requirements that are stricter than the federal requirements at 40 CFR 171. For example, many states require all commercial applicators, not only those using RUPs, to be certified.
• If you are going to apply RUPs in:
  • A state or territory, contact the certifying agency for the requirements. Most states have a Pesticide Safety Education Program. Contact the Pesticide Safety Education Program in your state or territory for information on training and study materials.
  • Indian country, get information about how to get certified at EPA’s webpage called Federal Certification to Apply Restricted Use Pesticides in Indian Country.
• Ensure you are certified for the jurisdiction in which you will apply RUPs.
• Recertify at the interval required for your jurisdiction but no later than a five-year interval.