NEIGHBOR NOTIFICATION NOW LAW!

BREAKING NEWS! WESTCHESTER COUNTY OPTS INTO NEIGHBOR NOTIFICATION

Click here for answers to frequently asked questions about Neighbor Notification

After years of intense organizing, lobbying and advocacy, Pesticide Neighbor Notification is now law.

With the enactment of the law, the battle has shifted from the state to the counties, which must pass local laws to opt into the new law's notification provisions.

"Five counties have already introduced local laws to opt in to this new law's protections," said Laura Haight, NYPIRG's senior environmental associate, referring to Albany, Erie, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. "This shows that people from across the state, from Buffalo to Montauk, want to be given fair warning before pesticides are used on the lawn next door."

"Mosquito spraying has heightened our awareness of pesticide use, but the untold story is that we are routinely exposed to hazardous pesticides in the food we eat, in our schools and offices, and even in our own backyards," said Audrey Thier, pesticide project director for Environmental Advocates. "In 1998, commercial applicators reported using over 23 million pounds and 3.5 million gallons of pesticides in New York State. Prior knowledge is our first line of defense in protecting ourselves and our families, pets, and property from inadvertant pesticide exposure."

The new law will require schools and day care centers to provide certain advance notice before pesticides are applied on their premises. It will also allow counties to pass local laws requiring commercial pesticide applicators to provide 48-hour advance notice to abutting properties before most lawn pesticide applications, and individuals to post markers when they apply large areas of lawn pesticides.

It took four years of intense pressure from environmentalists, breast cancer activists, children's health advocates, and concerned citizens to get the State Assembly and Senate to forge an agreement on the bill. A compromise was reached in the closing days of session this past June.

"We will never forget the many citizens who stepped forward in support of this bill in order to protect others from experiencing the problems from pesticide exposure that they and their families suffered," said Haight. "People like Eric Ginsberg, of Merrick, NY, who died of leukemia last year, leaving his wife and two young children behind; Nancy and Jerry Walsh, of Syracuse, whose 24-year old son Shannon died after repeated exposure to pesticides while working for a landscaping company; Tina Williams in Nassau County and Bruce Trimper in Schenectady, both of whose families suffered terrible health problems after their homes were treated for termites; and Joan Creatura in Rochester, who was exposed, along with her two small children, to pesticides that came right in through her living room window when her next door neighbor's tree was sprayed. These courageous individuals, and the thousands of people across the state who wrote letters, called, or lobbied their state legislators in person, deserve the credit for putting sufficient pressure on their law-makers to force them to act on the Neighbor Notification law."

NYPIRG and Environmental Advocates have developed a kit to help counties opt in to the Neighbor Notification law, including a model law, supporting information, and sample campaign materials for citizens. Interested citizens and local officials can request a copy of this kit by writing to
NYPIRG
107 Washington Ave.,
Albany, NY 12210
or calling 518-436-0876, or by e-mailing NYPIRG.