EPA Announces Interim Guidance on the 2024 Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing interim guidance and additional materials to support the regulatory community in implementing the requirements of the final rule for the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ). EPA has also created an FAQ document about the rulemaking, as well as a comparison chart showing the differences between the 2015 WPS, the 2020 AEZ Rule that never went into effect, and the 2024 AEZ Rule.
The AEZ is an area with additional requirements to protect workers and bystanders. This area immediately surrounds the pesticide application equipment during an outdoor pesticide application. The AEZ only exists during the application, moves with the equipment during application, and can extend outside of an agricultural establishment (e.g., school grounds, residential neighborhoods). It may have a 25-foot or 100-foot radius, depending on the application type and droplet size used. When the application is complete, the AEZ ceases to exist (although any post-application restrictions, such as a restricted entry interval, would apply to the treated area).
The interim guidance document and other materials can be found on EPA’s Application Exclusion Zone webpage and Worker Protection Standard webpage. The interim guidance addresses topics such as compliance with AEZs that extend off-establishment, determining the size of the AEZ using the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers standards for droplet size, and the exemption for immediate family. EPA plans to revise this guidance over time in response to various stakeholders’ questions and needs. Suggestions for additional guidance topics and improvements can be submitted to opp_occupational_pesticide_safety@epa.gov. This interim guidance supersedes all of EPA’s previous guidance on the AEZ and will be effective when the final AEZ rule goes into effect which is 60 days after the publication date in the Federal Register.
Background on the AEZ Rule
The WPS regulation protects over two million agricultural workers (and their families) and pesticide handlers who work on over 600,000 agricultural establishments. In 2015, EPA made significant changes to the regulation to reduce incidents of pesticide exposure among farmworkers and their family members. Less pesticide exposure means a healthier workforce and fewer lost wages, medical bills, and absences from work and school. These changes include creating the AEZ.
In 2020, the previous administration published a rule limiting AEZ protections to agricultural establishments and shrinking the size of the AEZ from 100 feet to 25 feet for some ground-based spray applications. These changes would have meant that applicators no longer had to suspend applications if people in the AEZ were outside of an agricultural establishment, such as a neighboring property or in an easement. Additionally, some AEZs would have been sized smaller (e.g., 25 feet instead of 100 feet) even for some fine sprays, which tend to drift farther. Prior to the effective date of the 2020 AEZ Rule, petitions were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and in the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the 2020 Rule. The SDNY issued an order granting the petitioners’ request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction enjoining the effective date of the rule. As a result, the 2020 AEZ Rule never went into effect.
In 2021, EPA began reviewing the 2020 AEZ Rule in accordance with Executive Order 13990, Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis. The Agency determined that the provisions in the 2020 AEZ Rule that weakened protections for farmworkers and nearby communities from pesticide exposure should be rescinded. The proposed rule to reinstate several provisions of the 2015 rule was published in March of 2023, and finalized in October 2024. It reinstates AEZ protections, extends protections for neighboring communities, makes requirements easier to understand, and provides flexibilities for family farms without compromising protections.
The 2024 AEZ Rule can be found on www.regulations.gov using Docket ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2022-0133.
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