California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) recently took the first steps toward stronger oversight of use of harmful pesticides in gardens and golf courses across the state. Thanks in part to last year’s AB 363, a bill authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and co-sponsored by NRDC, Environment California, and the American Bird Conservancy, DPR must scrutinize the potential harms from use of neonicotinoid insecticides (“neonics”) within the next two and a half years. DPR initiated the process last week, signaling that the agency is taking the bill’s directives seriously.
Meaningful, comprehensive review of the health and environmental threats from these chemicals could lead to protective mitigation measures. This kind of review is possible through a process called “reevaluation”—the process DPR has now initiated for non-agricultural neonic uses….