§ 17-1204 Interagency pest management committee.

   a.   Effective three months after enactment of the local law that added this section, an interagency pest management committee shall be formed, which shall be headed by the commissioner, or a designee, and which shall include the commissioners of sanitation, environmental protection, citywide administrative services and parks and recreation, the chair of the New York city housing authority and the chancellor of education, or their designees. Such committee shall share information related to the pest control strategies and experience of city agencies and shall meet on a semi-annual basis.

   b.   By January 1, 2007, the interagency pest management committee shall develop a plan to further reduce pesticide use by city agencies, including initiatives to implement integrated pest management, giving preference to employing physical, mechanical, cultural, biological and educational tactics to prevent conditions that promote pest infestations, which shall be updated on an annual basis, as necessary. The plan, and any updates of such plan, shall be submitted to the mayor and the speaker of the council within thirty days of issuance.

§ 17-1205 Exemptions.

   a.   The restrictions established pursuant to section 17-1203 of this chapter shall not apply to the following:

      1.   pesticides otherwise lawfully used for the purpose of maintaining a safe drinking water supply at drinking water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, reservoirs, and related collection, distribution and treatment facilities;

      2.   anti-microbial pesticides;

      3.   pesticides applied to professional sports playing fields, golf courses or used to maintain water quality in swimming pools;

      4.   pesticides used for the purpose of maintaining heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, cooling towers and other industrial cooling and heating systems;

      5.   pesticides used for the purpose of rodent control in containerized baits or placed directly into rodent burrows or placed in areas inaccessible to children or pets;

      6.   pesticides or classes of pesticides classified by the United States environmental protection agency as not requiring regulation under the federal insecticide, fungicide and rodenticide act, and therefore exempt from such regulation when intended for use, and used only in the manner specified;

      7.   biological pesticides;

      8.   boric acid and disodium tetrahydrate, silica gels, diatomaceous earth, and nonvolatile insect bait in tamper resistant containers;

      9.   synthetic substances listed as allowed on the United States department of agriculture national list of allowed and prohibited substances;

      10.   non-synthetic substances, unless listed as prohibited on the United States department of agriculture national list of allowed and prohibited substances;

      11.   pesticides used to control invasive plant species listed on the New York state invasive plant list in areas that the agency responsible for the property maintains for purposes other than public access;

      12.   pesticides used to control harmful plant species, as defined by the New York state department of environmental conservation, found growing on City property maintained for purposes of public access;

      13.   pesticides used when the agency responsible for the property determines alternative treatments to be a worker safety hazard related to vehicular traffic; and

      14.   pesticides used to comply with a state or federal mandate or permit requirement.

(Am. L.L. 2021/056, 5/23/2021, eff. 5/23/2021)

Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2021/056.

§ 17-1206 Waiver.

Any city agency, including the department, is authorized to apply to the commissioner for a waiver of the restrictions established pursuant to section 17-1203 of this chapter. Such application shall be in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner and shall contain such information as the commissioner deems reasonable and necessary to determine whether such waiver should be granted. Upon submitting an application for a waiver, the agency requesting the waiver shall notify by email the president of the borough in which pesticides may be applied pursuant to such waiver, the council member in whose district pesticides may be applied pursuant to such waiver, and the community board for the community district in which pesticides may be applied pursuant to such waiver, and publish notification of such waiver request in the City Record. In determining whether to grant or deny a request for a waiver, the commissioner shall consider whether the application of 17-1203 would be, in the absence of the waiver, unreasonable with respect to (i) the magnitude of the infestation, (ii) the threat to public health, (iii) the availability of effective alternatives and (iv) the likelihood of exposure of humans to the pesticide. Such waiver may be issued with respect to one or multiple applications and may be granted for a term deemed appropriate by the commissioner, provided, however, that such term shall not exceed one year. Within thirty days of granting a waiver, the department shall post the waiver application in its entirety to the department's website, and the agency receiving the waiver shall notify by email the president of the borough in which pesticides will be applied pursuant to such waiver, the council member in whose district pesticides will be applied pursuant to such waiver, and the community board for the community district in which pesticides will be applied pursuant to such waiver, and provide the pest management committee, as established by section 17-1204 of this chapter, with a copy of such waiver.

(Am. L.L. 2021/056, 5/23/2021, eff. 5/23/2021)

Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2021/056.