One of the highest priorities for the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is to develop a framework for a statewide pesticide notification system, according to Assistant Director Nan Singhasemanon, who spoke to a community engagement group on Monday. DPR plans to publicly post notices ahead of applications to a website and send push notifications to interested individuals.
The department is holding weekly internal meetings to ensure progress on this and hopes to hold listening sessions in July to gather community input, he added. The new system could launch next year, “depending on how things shake out.”
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The staff member said DPR continues to engage with Kern County Ag Commissioner Glenn Fankhauser. Talks broke down in January after DPR Director Val Dolcini pushed for a system long championed by environmental activists. CalEPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld has taken an interest in the issue as well, said Singhasemanon, and DPR will soon issue a response letter to the county.
At the meeting, Fankhauser said the discussion over the statewide system is “the best way to move forward here.” He added that he is still open to suggestions for a workable local system in Fresno County.
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