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1.17 PESTICIDE ORDINANCE THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF DOUGLAS DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I. POLICY The Douglas County Board of Supervisors recognizes that the use or misuse of pesticides may have profound affects upon indigenous flora and fauna, surface and ground water, as well as unintended effects upon persons frequenting treated areas for recreational or other purposes. Therefore, it is the express policy of Douglas County to refrain from the use of pesticides upon property it owns, uses or controls, excepting only those situations posing an imminent threat of serious injury to persons, property or agriculture, or where the proper use of pesticides will have a minimal impact upon the treated area, water resources or persons frequenting. SECTION II. DEFINITIONS "Pesticide" means any substance or mixture of substances labeled or intended for use or used for: Preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any insect, rodent, nematode, fungus, weed, or any other form of terrestrial or aquatic plant or animal life or virus, or other micro-organism (except viruses, bacteria or other micro-organisms on or in living persons or other living animals) declared to be a pest under federal or state law (7 U.S.C. Section 136 et seq., and regulations issued under those laws); or Defoliating plants, inhibiting plant growth or accelerating the drying of plant tissue. "County lands" means any land in which Douglas County owns a fee simple interest. "Sensitive areas" means all lands within 300 feet of lands incorporating schools, daycare centers, hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes, playgrounds, parks or similar public areas or facilities, navigable waterways and wetlands. SECTION III. USE OF PESTICIDES No Douglas County Department shall use or authorize the use of pesticides except as permitted by this ordinance and upon prior approval given by its standing committee. No person may apply pesticides to County lands except upon prior approval of the standing committee with jurisdiction. No standing committee shall approve the use of pesticides except at a duly noticed meeting of the body. Authorization for pesticide use shall not be given except upon consideration of the alternatives to pesticide use, potential property damage, potential effects upon ground or surface water, the proximity of the application to sensitive areas or other impacts upon the human environment, or any other factor the ---PAGE BREAK--- committee may choose to consider. Any pesticide application authorized under this ordinance shall be administered in accordance with all state and federal statutes and applicable administrative regulations. SECTION IV. POSTING Whenever pesticides are to be applied to any County lands subject to this ordinance the responsible department or person shall post warning signs that meet the requirements of Paragraphs 3 and 4 herein at least 48 hours prior to application and shall be left in place for at least 72 hours after actual application or until expiration of any time of safe reentry as indicated by the pesticide label, whichever is longer. Posting is not required if pesticides are to be applied to an area that is sufficiently fenced or secured to prevent access to anyone other than Douglas County personnel except as provided in paragraph 6 of this section. All signs required under this Section shall be at least 8½" X 11" in size. Signs shall be attached to the upper portion of a dowel or other supporting device so that the bottom of the sign is not less than 12" and the top of the sign is not more than 48" above the ground. The signs shall be of rigid material substantial enough to be easily read for at least the length of time required after application under Paragraph 1 in all weather conditions. All signs under this Section shall contain red lettering upon a white background. The signs shall have lettering not less than 2½" in height and shall be conspicuous and clearly legible. All signs shall bear the words "DANGER - AREA TREATED WITH PESTICIDE - DO NOT ENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL or words or symbols having the same meaning and effect. The posting requirement under this section applies to fields or other outdoor areas only to the extent that the target area to be treated with pesticide borders within 100 feet of a public road, residences of concerned individuals or within 300 feet of sensitive areas. Placards shall be posted at regular intervals along the border between the treated area and the public road, residences of concerned individuals or other sensitive area, and at normal points of access, with at least one placard being posted for each ¼ mile of border. Treated areas bordering a public road, residences of concerned individuals or other sensitive areas for less than ¼ mile shall be posted with at least one placard. Persons employed in or around areas treated with pesticides whose labels prescribe time intervals for safe re-entry following application shall be given clear notice and warning of each application, including a description of the treated area and the time interval required for safe re-entry into the area. Notice shall be given in such a manner as to be received and readily understood by all employees who may have access to the treated area, including persons of limited English language ability. Compliance with the posting requirement under this section does not relieve any person of the duty to comply with this paragraph. ---PAGE BREAK--- SECTION V. NOTIFICATION OF CONCERNED INDIVIDUALS The office of the Douglas County Clerk shall maintain a registry which shall list all persons who request advanced notice of pesticide application. This registry shall record the names, address and requests of: Persons who request preapplication notice of any pesticide application by Douglas County to any property within 300 feet of property owned by that person if a sufficient description of said property is maintained with the registry. Individuals who are medically-sensitive to pesticides and who request pre-application notice of any pesticide application by Douglas County within 1,000 feet of their residence. Concerned individuals shall maintain current and adequate addresses and property descriptions or their names will be removed from the registry. Concerned individuals shall be entitled to preapplication notice through December 31st of the year in which they make their request. At least 24 hours prior to pesticide application, notice shall be provided to all persons indicated by the registry as falling under the requirements of Paragraph in relation to the specific application(s). The notice shall state the name, address and telephone number of the applicator, the location of the property due to have pesticide applied, the date and time of application(s), and the pesticides expected to be applied. The applicator is also responsible for supplying the information as indicated in Section II upon request. Fulfilling this requirement shall not relieve the applicator of any requirements for prior notification imposed by State or Federal law or other sections of this ordinance. SECTION VI. EMERGENCY SITUATIONS AND EXEMPTIONS Exempted Property. A standing committee may exempt a pesticide application from some or all requirements of this ordinance, upon a showing by the County department or person seeking the exemption, that the potential for any adverse effect upon the public or to adjoining property is minimal and compliance with the terms of this ordinance is unduly burdensome or impractical. The standing committee must consider the following factors before granting an exemption from any or all of the requirements of this ordinance: Whether the area to which pesticides are to be applied is sufficiently removed from residences, sensitive areas or other places frequented by the public so that the potential of drifting airborne chemicals poses no danger to persons or property, Whether access to the area to be exempted is sufficiently restricted or remote that members of the public are unlikely to come into contact with pesticides applied to the exempted area, Whether the type of pesticide application to be performed is so highly controlled or so extremely localized that it is highly unlikely the application will expose other persons or property to the pesticides during or after application. Emergency Situations. Time frames for notice and posting requirements under this ordinance shall not apply where a County department or other person makes an appropriate showing to the committee with jurisdiction that emergency conditions warrant exemption from these requirements. ---PAGE BREAK--- Emergency situations shall be defined by the standing committee with jurisdiction and shall be limited to those cases where the application of pesticides is needed to control a life threatening situation or situation which poses an imminent threat of serious injury to persons, property or agriculture. Upon emergency application of pesticides, posting and notice in conformity with this ordinance shall take place contemporaneously with or as soon after application as practicable or as otherwise required by law. SECTION VII. SEVERABILITY If any section, sentence or clause of this ordinance is held invalid or unconstitutional, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance. SECTION VIII. EFFECTIVE DATE This ordinance shall be in force from and after its passage, publication and recording according to law. Dated this 17th day of November, 1994.