Section 6884 - San Joaquin Valley Ozone Nonattainment Area Use ProhibitionsPursuant to section 6452.2(f), the following shall apply to agricultural uses of high-volatile organic compound (VOC) products specified in the Annual VOC Emissions Inventory Report required in section 6881 containing abamectin, chlorpyrifos, gibberellins, or oxyfluorfen as the primary active ingredient in the San Joaquin Valley ozone nonattainment area during the May 1 through October 31 time period.
(a) No person may apply a nonfumigant product that has been designated as a high-VOC pursuant to section 6880 and as specified in the Annual VOC Emissions Inventory Report required by section 6881 on the following crops: alfalfa, almond, citrus, cotton, grape, pistachio, and walnut. If the product is not listed as a low-VOC, it cannot be used.(b) Notwithstanding (a), the following exceptions for use of high-VOC products are permitted: (1) Use of chlorpyrifos products to control aphids on cotton.(2) Use of gibberellins products when applied at an application rate of 16 grams of active ingredient per acre or less.(3) Use of oxyfluorfen products when applied at an application rate of 0.125 ( 1/8) pounds of active ingredient per acre or less.(4) Uses for which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued an emergency exemption from registration under Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.(5) Uses registered as a Special Local Need under Section 24(c) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.(6) Applications made by or under the direction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, or county agricultural commissioner to control, suppress or eradicate pests.(7) Applications using precision spray technology meeting the criteria of the California Office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Environmental Quality Incentives Program.(c) If prohibitions for high-VOC nonfumigant products are in effect pursuant to section 6452.2(f), those prohibitions must remain in effect until the hypothetical VOC emissions shown in the Annual VOC Emissions Inventory Report comply with the limit specified in section 6452.2(f) for at least two consecutive years. The hypothetical VOC emissions during a year of prohibitions shall be calculated for each active ingredient used on each crop specified in section 6884. The hypothetical emissions shall be calculated by assuming the relative mixture of high and low-VOC products used in the current year of prohibitions would have been the same as in the most recent year without prohibitions. The VOC emissions are then calculated using that product mixture for the amount of active ingredient used in the current year. The following formula represents how the hypothetical VOC emissions described above would be calculated for each pesticide-crop combination:
| Hypothetical emissions | | (Emissions for the pesticide-crop | | (Pounds active ingredient for the crop |
| for a pesticide-crop | | combination during May-Oct for the | x | during May-Oct for the year of |
| combination listed in | = | most current year without prohibitions) | | prohibitions) |
| section 6884 during | | | | | |
| May-Oct for the year | | | Pounds active ingredient for the crop during May-Oct |
| of prohibitions | | | for the year most current year without prohibitions |
The total hypothetical VOC emissions will be the summation of the hypothetical emissions for each pesticide-crop combination, plus the actual VOC emissions for the remaining pesticides and crops not listed in section 6880.
(d) If the Director makes a determination that the removal of an active ingredient designated as a high-VOC in section 6880, or the removal of a crop in subsection (a), or the addition of an exception in subsection (b) will not affect the ability to comply with the limit specified in section 6452.2(f) (17.2 tons per day), then the Director may approve the interim removal and/or addition using the Annual VOC Emissions Inventory process described below in (e). (1) The Director's determination to remove an active ingredient shall be based on: (A) the decrease in its use and emissions;(B) the decrease being caused by factors that are likely to persist; and(C) on a calculation of the inventory using the assumption that all applications to the crops listed in subsection (a) would have used the product(s) containing the removed pesticide that would result in the highest VOC emissions for the two most recent years of the VOC emissions inventory.(2) The Director's determination to remove a crop shall be based on: (A) the decrease in use and emissions from products specified in section 6880 on this crop;(B) the decrease being caused by factors that are likely to persist; and(C) on a calculation of the inventory using the assumption that all applications to the removed crop would use the products containing the primary active ingredients listed in section 6880 that result in the highest VOC emissions for the two most recent years of VOC emissions inventory.(3) The Director's determination to add an exception shall be based on the estimated VOC emissions that would result from allowing the exception based on the two most recent years of the VOC emissions inventory and study information. The study must: (A) specify the maximum application rate (pounds per acre) of the high-VOC product of the added exception; and(B) estimate the maximum number of acres that could be treated with a high-VOC product for the added exception during May-October, and the method to estimate the number of acres.(C) No exception would be allowed unless the study shows a greater amount of an active ingredient must be applied using a low-VOC product to achieve the same efficacy as a high-VOC product.(e) The Director shall publish the proposed interim removal of an active ingredient or crop, or the addition of an exception in the draft VOC emissions report specified in section 6881(b). The report must include a description of the calculations used to determine that the limit specified in section 6452.2(f) would not have been exceeded in the two most recent years, with the removal or addition. The report must also include a description of the changes in cropping patterns, pest management practices, product registration, regulatory requirements, or other factors that have caused a decrease in use and emissions, and are likely to persist. A 45-day public comment period will be provided to allow for submission of written statements or arguments to the Director for review before finalizing the Annual VOC Emissions Inventory Report. The emissions report will be posted on the Department's Web site. The removal or addition must be evaluated each year in the Annual VOC Emissions Inventory Report and may only remain in effect up to three years unless implemented through state and federal rulemaking.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 3, § 6884
1. New section filed 5-23-2013; operative 11-1-2013 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(2) (Register 2013, No. 21). Note: Authority cited: Sections 11456, 12976 and 14102, Food and Agricultural Code. Reference: Sections 11501 and 14102, Food and Agricultural Code.
1. New section filed 5-23-2013; operative 11-1-2013 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(2) (Register 2013, No. 21).