HomeMy WebLinkAboutC01 Integrated Pest Management
CITY COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT: INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT NO.: C-1
PURPOSE:
To develop and implement an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program designed to
minimize pesticide use at City-maintained facilities, train appropriate employees
regarding the City’s IPM Program, enhance the existing method for tracking and
reporting pesticide use at City facilities and inform the community about IPM strategies
and techniques.
POLICY:
City of Mountain View employees and City contractors will perform pest management
operations at City-maintained facilities in a manner that reduces or eliminates chemical
pesticide use to the maximum extent feasible and practical. Chemical pesticides will
only be used in the following situations: (1) the use of chemical pesticides is needed to
prevent unacceptable health risks or economic loss; (2) the use of chemical pesticides is
needed to prevent the development of unsafe conditions; or (3) where nonchemical IPM
techniques have proven to be ineffective at controlling the target pest. In these cases,
the City will employ a reduced-risk chemical pesticide strategy, which means lower
toxicity pesticides will be used first followed by more potent pesticides, if needed. This
Policy applies to pesticide use on property that is maintained by the City of Mountain
View and the City’s contractors.
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT:
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-
term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques, such as
biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices and use of
resistant varieties. Pesticides are used after monitoring indicates they are needed
according to established guidelines, and treatments are made with the goal of removing
only the target organism. Pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner
that minimizes risks to human health, beneficial and nontarget organisms and the
environment. (Source: University of California State-wide Integrated Pest Management
Project)
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CITY COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT: INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT NO.: C-1
Examples of the IPM techniques that will be used are:
No controls (e.g., tolerating pest populations, use of pest-resistant plants or
allowing plants to die naturally);
Maintenance of healthy landscapes through proper fertilization, watering, pruning
and aeration;
Physical controls, such as hand or mechanical removal, traps and barriers;
Biological controls, such as the use of predator species, parasites or grazing;
Cultural controls, such as mulching and mowing;
Less toxic controls, such as soaps and oils; and
Monitoring pest populations, accurate identification and utilizing knowledge of
pest life cycles.
OUTREACH AND EDUCATION:
Training and education are important components of the IPM Policy. City personnel
who apply pesticides or supervise and provide advice about pesticide application will
be trained periodically on recommended IPM strategies and techniques, as well as
pollution prevention practices. City contractors will also be required to complete
training regarding the concepts that are included in this Policy. Furthermore, the City
will provide information to the public about its efforts to reduce pesticide use, as well as
residential and commercial IPM practices.
PESTICIDE USE TRACKING:
Appropriate City departments will continue to track pesticide use for reporting
purposes. City contractors will also be required to track pesticide use and report the
data to the City regularly. City-wide pesticide use data will be reported annually to the
Regional Water Quality Control Board, as required in the City’s NPDES Storm Water
Discharge Permit. The annual report, including the pesticide use data, will be a public
record.
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CITY COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT: INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT NO.: C-1
COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL OR STATE LAWS:
Nothing in this Policy is intended to apply to pesticide applications that are required to
comply with Federal or State laws or regulations. Nothing in this Policy is intended to
conflict with Federal or State laws or regulations governing the storage, use or disposal
of pesticides.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PLAN:
To achieve the goals of the IPM Policy and to comply with the State-issued NPDES
Storm Water Discharge Permit, the City will develop and implement an Integrated Pest
Management Plan for use in all City-maintained areas. This plan will include Best
Management Practices (BMPs), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and an
implementation strategy. The plan will provide a process for responding to pest
problems at City-maintained facilities at the local level. Additionally, the plan will
include mechanisms to discourage pesticide use at new development sites, as well as
coordination with County-wide household hazardous waste collection efforts.
BAN ON USE OF TOXICITY CATEGORY I PESTICIDE PRODUCTS:
City of Mountain View employees and City contractors are prohibited from using
chemical pesticides that are classified as Toxicity Category I by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency. Exemptions to this ban may be granted in
emergency cases where a pest outbreak poses an immediate threat to public health or
significant economic loss will result if the banned pesticide is not applied. Exemptions
will only be granted in situations where a Pest Control Advisor recommends the use of
such a pesticide, and the Category I pesticide application is approved by the
department head or designee.
LIMITED USE OF TOXICITY CATEGORY II PESTICIDE PRODUCTS:
City of Mountain View employees and City contractors will be limited in their use of
chemical pesticides that are classified as Toxicity Category II by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency. Category II pesticides will only be used in situations
where a Pest Control Advisor recommends the use of these pesticides after Category III
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CITY COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT: INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT NO.: C-1
alternatives have been exhausted or where needed to prevent a pest outbreak that poses
an immediate threat to public health or significant economic loss.
WATER QUALITY COMMITMENT:
With the adoption of this Policy, the City commits, where possible, to: (1) comply with
the State-issued NPDES Storm Water Discharge Permit by eliminating use of pesticides
that cause impairment of surface waters, including retention ponds; and (2) reduce use
of organophosphate pesticides. Pesticides that are currently listed as causing
impairment in local urban streams include diazinon, chlorpyrifos, chlordane, dieldrin
and DDT. The City does not use these listed chemicals. Pesticides achieving this rating
in the future will also be phased out. All chemical pesticide applications at City-
maintained facilities will be implemented using BMPs for water quality protection.
PESTICIDE PURCHASING POLICY:
City of Mountain View employees are not permitted to obtain over-the-counter
pesticide products for use on City property.
DEFINITIONS:
Whenever used in this Policy, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth
below:
1. “Contractor” means a person, firm, corporation or other entity, including a
governmental entity, that enters into a contract with the City to provide landscape
maintenance or related activities.
2. “Integrated Pest Management” means a decision-making process for managing
pests that uses monitoring to determine pest injury levels and combines biological,
cultural, physical and chemical tools to minimize health, environmental and
financial risks. The method uses knowledge of the target pests’ life cycles,
environmental requirements and natural enemies to facilitate natural control of the
pests. This method incorporates natural methods of pest control, then proceeds to
the least-toxic pesticides if the natural methods are not effective.
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CITY COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT: INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT NO.: C-1
3. “NPDES Permit” is a regulatory document issued by the State of California to
control the discharge of pollutants into waterways. NPDES is an acronym for
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
4. “Pest Control Advisor” means someone who is licensed by the California
Department of Pesticide Regulations in accordance with California Code of
Regulations, Title 3, Article 5. Only a licensed Pest Control Advisor who is
registered with the County Agricultural Commissioner may provide written pest
control recommendations for areas such as parks, golf courses and public right-of-
ways.
5. “Pesticide” means pesticide as defined in Section 12753 of the California Food and
Agricultural Code, including, but not limited to, herbicides, insecticides and
fungicides.
6. “Toxicity Category I Pesticide” means any pesticide product that meets United
States Environmental Protection Agency criteria for Toxicity Category I under
Section 156.10 of Part 156 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
7. “Toxicity Category II Pesticide” means any pesticide product that meets United
States Environmental Protection Agency criteria for Toxicity Category II under
Section 156.10 of Part 156 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
8. “Toxicity Category III Pesticide” means any pesticide product that meets United
States Environmental Protection Agency criteria for Toxicity Category III under
Section 156.10 of Part 156 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Effective Date: September 10, 2002
CNL POL
C01-CP
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