Prohibits the use of pesticides at children's overnight or summer day camps

3 Co-sponsors

• Tony Avella
• Brad Hoylman-Sigal
• Diane J. Savino

BILL NUMBER:S5288D

Title of bill

An act to amend the public health law and the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the use of pesticides at children's overnight or summer day camp

Purpose

To extend New York State's school anti-pesticide laws to children's overnight and summer day camps. This act will ensure that no children's overnight or summer day camp applies pesticide to any playground, turf, athletic or playing field.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends the public health law by renumbering section 1396 as section 1397 and by adding a new section 1396. Section 1396 defines "pesticide" as set forth in subdivision thirty-five of section 33-0101 of the environmental conservation law and lists pesticide alternatives, which are not included in the definition of "pesticide." This section provides that no camp defined in subdivisions one and two of section 1392 of the public health law shall apply pesticide to any playground, turf, athletic or playing fields, other than those on publicly-owned or publicly-leased property in a city of more than one million, except that an emergency application of a pesticide has been determined. This section also provides that the commissioner shall have the power to exempt from this section any children's overnight camp or summer day camp to the extent that it is not practicable to use pesticide alternatives.

Section 2 amends subdivision 7 of section 33-0303 of the environmental conservation law, to extend the existing provisions related to ,guidance on pesticide alternatives to summer camps.

Section 3 provides the effective date.

Justification

New York State has already enacted anti-pesticide laws for public and non-public schools. As the American Academy of Pediatrics reported on November 26, 2012, "childhood exposure to pesticides is associated with pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive functions and behavioral problems." The National Academy of Sciences also reported that 396 of all neurobehavioral disorders in children are caused by toxic exposures in the environment and that another 25% are cause by interactions between the environmental factors and genetics.

Anti-pesticide legislation does not currently apply to children's over- night or summer day camps, where children play and spend time, exactly as they do in school. This bill with ensure that children can play in a safe and chemical-free environment, while taking into consideration emergency situations, in which the use of pesticide is determined as necessary by the competent authority for public safety reasons.

Also, the bill gives the power to the health commissioner to exempt camps to the extent that it is not practicable to use pesticide

alternatives (e.g. camps operated on land which they do not fully control or maintain).

Legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.