ARTICLE 15. The Pesticide Contamination Prevention Act [13141. - 13152.]

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC 15.
in effect

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13141. Section 13141.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) It is the right of every citizen in this state to drink safe, potable, wholesome, and pure drinking water. (b) The health and economic prosperity of rural communities and individual farm families in the state are threatened by contaminated drinking water supplies because of their proximity to the use of pesticides. (c) Pesticide contaminants and other organic chemicals are being found at an ever increasing rate in underground drinking water supplies. (d) The United States Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that evidence of relatively localized levels of pesticide pollution should be treated as a warning of more widespread, future contamination. (e) Groundwater once polluted cannot be easily cleaned up; thus, there is a considerable potential that groundwater pollution will continue long after actions have been taken to restrict application of the pesticide to land. (f) Due to the potential widespread exposure to public drinking water supplies from pesticide applications to the land and the resultant risk to public health and welfare, the potential for pollution of groundwater due to pesticide use must be considered in the registration, renewal, and reregistration process. (g) It is the purpose of this article to prevent further pesticide pollution of the groundwater aquifers of this state which may be used for drinking water supplies.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13142. Section 13142.

For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply: (a) “Active ingredient” has the same meaning as defined in Section 136 of Title 7 of the United States Code. (b) “Agricultural use” has the same meaning as defined in Section 11408. (c) “Board” means the State Water Resources Control Board. (d) “Chemigation” means a method of irrigation whereby a pesticide is mixed with irrigation water before the water is applied to the crop or to the soil. (e) “Degradation product” means a substance resulting from the transformation of a pesticide by physicochemical or biochemical means. (f) “Groundwater protection data gap” means that, for a particular pesticide, the director, after study, has been unable to determine that each study required pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 13143 has been submitted or that each study submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 13143 is valid, complete, and adequate. (g) “Henry’s Law constant” is an indicator of the escaping tendency of dilute solutes from water and is approximated by the ratio of the vapor pressure to the water solubility at the same temperature. (h) “Pesticide” is defined in Section 12753. (i) “Pesticide registrant” means a person that has registered a pesticide pursuant to this chapter. (j) “Pollute” means to introduce a pesticide product into the groundwaters of the state resulting in an active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or a degradation product of a pesticide above a level that does not cause adverse health effects, accounting for an adequate margin of safety. (k) “Pollution” means the consequence of polluting. (l) “Soil adsorption coefficient” is a measure of the tendency of pesticides, or their biologically active transformation products, to bond to the surfaces of soil particles. (m) “Soil microbial zone” means the zone of the soil below which the activity of microbial species is so reduced that it has no significant effect on pesticide breakdown.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13143. Section 13143.

(a) Not later than December 1, 1986, a person that has registered a pesticide in California for agricultural use shall submit to the director the information prescribed in this subdivision. The information shall be submitted for each active ingredient in each pesticide registered. The registrant shall submit all of the following information: (1) Water solubility. (2) Vapor pressure. (3) Octanol-water partition coefficient. (4) The soil adsorption coefficient. (5) Henry’s Law constant. (6) Dissipation studies, including hydrolysis, photolysis, aerobic and anaerobic soil metabolism, and field dissipation, under California or similar environmental use conditions. (7) Any additional information the director determines is necessary. (b) The director also may require the information prescribed in subdivision (a) for other specified ingredients and degradation products of an active ingredient in any pesticide. The director shall also require this information when the State Department of Health Services or the board submits a written request for the information to the director, if the State Department of Health Services or the board specifies the reasons why it considers the information necessary. The director shall deny the request upon a written finding that, based on available scientific evidence, the request would not further the purposes of this article. (c) All information submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be presented in English and summarized in tabular form on no more than three sheets of paper with the actual studies, including methods and protocols attached. All information , at a minimum, shall meet the testing methods and reporting requirements provided by the Environmental Protection Agency Pesticide Assessment Guidelines, Subdivision D Series 60 to 64, inclusive, for product chemistry and Subdivision N Series 161 to 164, inclusive, for environmental fate, including information required for degradation products in specific studies. With prior approval from the director, registrants may use specified alternative protocols as permitted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, if the director finds use of the protocol is consistent with, and accomplishes the objectives of, this article. Studies conducted on active ingredients in the formulation of pesticides shall meet the same testing methods as required for studies conducted on active ingredients. The department, in consultation with the board, in addition, may require specified testing protocols that are specific to California soil and climatic conditions. The director may give a pesticide registrant an extension of up to two years if it determines that this additional time is necessary and warranted to complete the studies required in paragraph (6) of subdivision (a). No extension of the deadline for these studies shall go beyond December 1, 1989. When seeking the extension, the registrant shall submit to the director a written report on the current status of the dissipation studies for which the extension is being sought. For registrants granted an extension pursuant to this section, Section 13145 shall be effective upon the completion date established by the director. (d) The director may grant the registrant an extension beyond the one authorized in subdivision (c), if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The registrant submits a written request to the director for an extension beyond the one granted pursuant to subdivision (c). The request shall include the reasons why the extension is necessary and the findings produced by the study up to the time the request is made. (2) The director finds that the registrant has made every effort to complete the studies required in paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) within the required time limits of the extension granted pursuant to subdivision (c) and that those studies could not be completed within the required time limits due to circumstances beyond the control of the registrant. (3) The director establishes a final deadline, not to exceed one year beyond the time limit of the extension granted pursuant to subdivision (c), and a schedule of progress by which the registrant shall complete the studies required in paragraph (6) of subdivision (a). (e) After December 1, 1986, no registration of any new pesticide shall be granted unless the applicant submits all of the information required by the director pursuant to this article and the director finds that the information meets the requirements of this article.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13144. Section 13144.

(a) The department shall establish specific numerical values for water solubility, soil adsorption coefficient (Koc), hydrolysis, aerobic and anaerobic soil metabolism, and field dissipation. The values established by the department shall be at least equal to those established by the Environmental Protection Agency. The department shall revise the numerical values when the department finds that the revision is necessary to protect the groundwater of the state. The numerical values established or revised by the department shall always be at least as stringent as the values being used by the Environmental Protection Agency at the time the values are established or revised by the department. (b) On or before December 31, 2004, and updated at least annually thereafter, the director shall post the following information on the department’s Internet Web site for each pesticide registered for agricultural use and during years that specific numerical values are revised: (1) A list of each active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product of an active ingredient of a pesticide for which there is a groundwater protection data gap. (2) The Groundwater Protection List established pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 13145. (3) For each pesticide listed pursuant to paragraph (2) for which information is available, a list of the amount sold in California during the most recent year for which sales information is available and where and for what purpose the pesticide was used, when this information is available in the pesticide use report. (c) The department shall determine, to the extent possible, the toxicological significance of the pesticides listed in the Groundwater Protection List.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13145. Section 13145.

(a) Any registrant of a pesticide identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 13144 is subject to a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each day the groundwater protection data gap exists. In determining the amount of the fine, the director shall consider both of the following: (1) The extent to which the registrant has made every effort to submit valid, complete, and adequate information within the required time limits. (2) Circumstances beyond the control of the registrant that have prevented the registrant from submitting valid, complete, and adequate information within the required time limits. (b) If there is a dispute between the director and a registrant regarding the existence of a groundwater protection data gap and the director desires to levy a fine on the registrant pursuant to this section, the director shall submit the issues of the dispute to the subcommittee created pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13150. The subcommittee shall review the evidence submitted by the registrant and the director and make recommendations to the director on whether or not the groundwater data gap exists. (c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to pesticide products whose registration has lapsed or has been canceled, or to products that have been granted a current extension pursuant to Section 13143. (d) The director shall, by regulation, establish the Groundwater Protection List, which shall include each active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product of a pesticide that, when applied, has the potential to pollute groundwater. (e) The director, in consultation with the subcommittee created pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13150, shall develop a peer reviewed method to determine the potential of a pesticide to pollute groundwater using specific numerical values established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 13144. The director may revise this method, subject to peer review. The peer review shall be conducted using the same process as described in Section 57004 of the Health and Safety Code. When a chemical is listed by regulation using this method, no further peer review of the method is required. (f) Each active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product of a pesticide on the Groundwater Protection List that is detected pursuant to Sections 13148 and 13149 and determined to be a result of lawful agricultural use shall be regulated to prevent groundwater pollution in accordance with this article. (g) Any person who uses a pesticide that has been placed on the Groundwater Protection List and does not file a report pursuant to Section 12979, is required to report to the county agricultural commissioner the use of the pesticide on a form prescribed by the director. The reporting deadline shall conform to the deadline established for the reporting of the use of restricted materials.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13146. Section 13146.

(a) The director shall not register or renew the registration of a pesticide intended to be applied to or injected into the ground by ground-based application equipment or by chemigation after December 1, 1988, if there is a groundwater protection data gap for that pesticide, unless the registrant has been granted a current extension pursuant to Section 13143. (b) The director shall not register or renew the registration of a pesticide intended for use with other than ground-based application equipment after December 1, 1989, if there is a groundwater protection data gap for that pesticide, unless the registrant has been granted a current extension pursuant to Section 13143. (c) If a registrant does not comply with the information requirements of Section 13143, the department shall file the information requirements of Section 13143 in accordance with procedures provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of Section 136a of Title 7 of the United States Code. In order to carry out this section, the director has the same authority to require information from registrants of active pesticide ingredients that the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency has pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of Section 136a of Title 7 of the United States Code. On or before July 1, 1986, the director shall, by regulation, prescribe procedures for resolving disputes or funding the filing of the information requirements of Section 13143. The procedures may include mediation and arbitration. The arbitration procedures, insofar as practical, shall be consistent with the federal act, or otherwise shall be in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules established by the American Arbitration Association. The procedures shall be established so as to resolve any dispute with the timetable established in Section 13143. (d) For an active ingredient or pesticide for which a registrant or registrants do not provide the information required pursuant to Section 13143, the director may determine the active ingredient or pesticide to be critical to agricultural production and the director may utilize assessments charged to those registrants of the active ingredient for which the information is required pursuant to Section 13143 in amounts necessary to cover the department’s expenses in obtaining the information. The assessment shall be made pursuant to Section 12824. The director may also request an appropriation to be used in combination with assessments to obtain the required information.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13147. Section 13147.

The director shall annually request a budget appropriation in order to meet the reasonable and anticipated costs of conducting soil and water monitoring pursuant to Section 13148, a review of data submitted pursuant to Section 13143, and the administration of pesticides placed on the Groundwater Protection List pursuant to this article.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13148. Section 13148.

(a) In order to more accurately determine the mobility and persistence of the pesticides identified in the Groundwater Protection List, and to determine if these pesticides have migrated to groundwaters of the state, the director shall conduct soil and groundwater monitoring statewide in areas of the state where the pesticide is primarily used or where other factors identified pursuant to Section 13143 and the Groundwater Protection List, including physicochemical characteristics and use practices of the pesticides, indicate a probability that the pesticide may migrate to the groundwaters of the state. The department shall monitor for the active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product of the pesticide listed in the Groundwater Protection List. The monitoring shall commence within one year after the pesticide is placed on the Groundwater Protection List and shall be conducted in accordance with standard protocol and testing procedures established pursuant to subdivision (b). Monitoring programs shall replicate conditions under which the pesticide is normally used in the area of monitoring. In developing a monitoring program, the director shall coordinate with other agencies that conduct soil and groundwater monitoring. (b) Within 90 days after a pesticide is placed on the Groundwater Protection List pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 13145, the director, in consultation with the board, shall develop a standard protocol and testing procedure for each pesticide identified pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 13145. (c) The director shall report all monitoring results to the State Department of Public Health and the board.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13149. Section 13149.

(a) Within 90 days after the active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product of a pesticide is detected under any of the conditions listed in paragraph (1) or (2), the director shall determine whether the detection resulted from agricultural use in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, and shall state in writing the reasons for the determination. (1) An active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product of a pesticide has been found at or below the deepest of the following depths: (A) Eight feet below the soil surface. (B) Below the root zone of the crop where the active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product was found. (C) Below the soil microbial zone. (2) An active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product of a pesticide has been found in the groundwaters of the state. (b) Upon a determination by the director that a pesticide meets any of the conditions specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) as a result of agricultural use in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, the director shall immediately notify the registrant of the determination and of the registrant’s opportunity to request a hearing pursuant to subdivision (c). (c) Any pesticide that meets any of the conditions in subdivision (b) shall be subject to Section 13150 if the registrant of the pesticide requests, within 30 days after the notice is issued, that the subcommittee conduct a hearing, as described in Section 13150. Notwithstanding any other law, if the registrant does not request the hearing within 30 days after the notice is issued, the director shall cancel the registration of the pesticide. (d) For purposes of this section, any finding of a pesticide shall result from either an analytical method approved by the department that provides unequivocal identification of a chemical, such as mass spectroscopy, or from verification, within 30 days, by a second analytical method or a second analytical laboratory approved by the department.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13150. Section 13150.

The director may allow the continued registration, sale, and use of a pesticide that meets any one of the conditions specified in Section 13149 if all of the following conditions are met: (a) The registrant submits a report and documented evidence that demonstrate both of the following: (1) That the presence in the soil of any active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product does not threaten to pollute the groundwater of the state in any region within the state in which the pesticide may be used according to the terms under which it is registered. (2) That any active ingredient, other specified ingredient, or degradation product that has been found in groundwater has not polluted, and does not threaten to pollute, the groundwater of the state in any region within the state in which the pesticide may be used according to the terms under which it is registered. (b) A subcommittee of the director’s pesticide registration and evaluation committee, consisting of one member each representing the director, the State Department of Health Services, and the board, holds a hearing, within 180 days after it is requested by the registrant, to review the report and documented evidence submitted by the registrant and any other information or data that the subcommittee determines is necessary to make a finding. (c) The subcommittee, within 90 days after the hearing is conducted, makes any of the following findings and recommendations: (1) That the ingredient found in the soil or groundwater has not polluted, and does not threaten to pollute, the groundwater of the state. (2) That the agricultural use of the pesticide can be modified so that there is a high probability that the pesticide would not pollute the groundwater of the state. (3) That modification of the agricultural use of the pesticide pursuant to paragraph (2) or cancellation of the pesticide will cause severe economic hardship on the state’s agricultural industry, and that no alternative products or practices can be effectively used so that there is a high probability that pollution of the groundwater of the state will not occur. The subcommittee shall recommend a level of the pesticide that does not significantly diminish the margin of safety recognized by the subcommittee to not cause adverse health effects. When the subcommittee makes a finding pursuant to paragraph (2) or this paragraph (3), it shall determine whether the adverse health effects of the pesticide are carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, or neurotoxic. (d) The director, within 30 days after the subcommittee issues its findings, does any of the following: (1) Concurs with the subcommittee finding pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c). (2) Concurs with the subcommittee finding pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), and adopts modifications that result in a high probability that the pesticide would not pollute the groundwaters of the state. (3) Concurs with the subcommittee findings pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), or determines that the subcommittee finding pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) will cause severe economic hardship on the state’s agricultural industry. In either case, the director shall adopt the subcommittee’s recommended level or shall establish a different level, provided the level does not significantly diminish the margin of safety to not cause adverse health effects. (4) Determines that, contrary to the finding of the subcommittee, no pollution or threat to pollution exists. The director shall state the reasons for his or her decisions in writing at the time any action is taken, specifying any differences with the subcommittee’s findings and recommendations. The written statement shall be transmitted to the appropriate committees of the Senate and Assembly, the State Department of Health Services, and the board. When the director takes action pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3), he or she shall determine whether the adverse health effects of the pesticide are carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, or neurotoxic.

Cal. Food and Agricultural Code - FAC § 13152. Section 13152.

(a) (1) The department shall conduct ongoing soil and groundwater monitoring of any pesticide whose continued use is permitted following the issuance of findings by the director pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 13150. The department shall continuously review new science and data that could impact the validity of a finding that a pesticide reviewed pursuant to Section 13150 has not polluted and does not threaten to pollute the groundwater of the state. (2) If the department determines that there is new science or data that could impact the validity of a finding described in paragraph (1), the director shall either mitigate the threat presented by the pollution or subject the pesticide again to the Section 13150 review process. (b) Any pesticide monitored pursuant to this section that is determined, by review of monitoring data and any other relevant data, to pollute the groundwaters of the state two years after the director takes action pursuant to paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of subdivision (d) of Section 13150 shall be canceled unless the director has determined that the adverse health effects of the pesticide are not carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, or neurotoxic. (c) The department shall maintain a statewide database of wells sampled for pesticide active ingredients. All agencies shall submit to the department, in a timely manner, the results of any well sampling for pesticide active ingredients and the results of any well sampling that detect any pesticide active ingredients. (d) Not later than June 30, 1986, the director, the State Department of Public Health, and the board shall jointly establish minimum requirements for well sampling that will ensure precise and accurate results. The requirements shall be distributed to all agencies that conduct well sampling. All well sampling conducted after December 1, 1986, shall meet the minimum requirements established pursuant to this subdivision. (e) The department shall post the following information on its Internet Web site, updated no later than December 1 of each year: (1) The number of wells sampled for pesticide active ingredients, the location of the wells from which the samples were taken, the well numbers, if available, and the agencies responsible for drawing and analyzing the samples. (2) The number of well samples with detectable levels of pesticide active ingredients, the location of the wells from which the samples were taken, the well numbers, if available, and the agencies responsible for drawing and analyzing the samples. (3) An analysis of the results of well sampling described in paragraphs (1) and (2), to determine the probable source of the residues. The analysis shall consider factors such as the physical and chemical characteristics of the pesticide, volume of use and method of application of the pesticide, irrigation practices related to use of the pesticide, and types of soil in areas where the pesticide is applied. (4) Actions taken by the director and the board to prevent pesticides from migrating to groundwaters of the state.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

Starting a business in California? California LLC guide: costs and requirements