Pesticides – Natural Resources

Eric Gjevre
Tribal FIFRA Inspector – Circuit Rider
208-686-5507

Pesticide Regulation/Program Activities:

Examples of pesticide drift damage

Click the following link for an overview of the Federal Pesticide Law: www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/laws

Follow-up Investigations (for cause)

The Circuit Rider Program provides response to Pesticide Complaints by conducting follow-up inspections to determine if violations of FIFRA have occurred. The majority of investigations involve complaints of misuse of pesticides, which may have caused some type of damage to humans, animals, crops or the environment.

Routine Inspections

Inspections are conducted under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) on behalf of the EPA through a cooperative agreement with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe

Inspections are used as a tool to determine compliance with FIFRA, and to minimize the potentially harmful effects resulting from the exposure of people and the environment to pesticides, pesticide residues or metabolites by ensuring that pesticide use is conducted in a safe and proper manner.

These inspections may fall into one or more of the following categories:

Agricultural / Non Agricultural Use Inspections
Product / Records Inspections
- PEI – Producer Establishment Inspections: an inspection of an establishment where pesticides or devices are produced and held for distribution or sale. The purpose of such an inspection is to determine if the producer is maintaining the appropriate records, producing only registered pesticides and using accepted labeling.
- MPI – Marketplace Inspection: an inspection conducted at the retail or wholesale level to ensure that the products are properly labeled, packaged and registered with the US EPA. Compliance with storage and packaging requirements are also verified.
- RUP -Restricted Use Pesticide: an inspection conducted to verify that RUP’s are sold and distributed to properly licensed professional and private pesticide applicators and dealers.
Import / Export Inspections
Experimental Use Inspection

Worker Protection Standards

The Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is designed to reduce the risks of illness or injury resulting from worker’s and handlers’ occupational exposures to pesticides used in the production of agricultural plants on farms or in nurseries, greenhouses, and forests and also from the accidental exposure of workers or other persons to such pesticides.

The Circuit Rider Program conducts WPS inspections on all participating reservations during the growing season and at other times, to ensure the following:

Safety information and emergency medical facility information is located at a central location
WPS workers and handlers are properly trained using WPS criteria
Decontamination supplies are available and properly located for use by WPS workers
Proper use and availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Proper notification of pesticide applications
Restricted entry intervals (REI) following pesticide applicationsDetailed compliance information on the WPS is found in the “How to Comply” manual and on line at US EPA – Worker Protection Standardswww.epa.gov/pesticides/health/worker.htm

Education and Outreach/Compliance Assistance

The Pesticide Enforcement program promotes the safe use of pesticide products by applicators, tribal members, staff and the general public by providing training sessions, workshops, safety literature, label reference materials, WPS training materials and information on related state programs.

Additional Resources/Links:

For additional information, you are encouraged to visit the following websites.