8.3 Supervising Noncertified Applicators Under 40 CFR Part 171

8.3 Supervising Noncertified Applicators Under 40 CFR Part 171

Core Concept: 40 C.F.R. pt. 171 is EPA's certification of pesticide applicators rule. It is the federal floor: a state's certification plan must meet or exceed it, and Arkansas's licensing rules in 2 CAR pt. 72 are the state implementation. When an exam item asks about a person applying a restricted use pesticide without a licence, the answer lives in the interaction of these two - the federal supervision requirements and the Arkansas technician licence.

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The Terminology Changed

The revised rule replaced "uncertified applicator" with noncertified applicator using restricted use pesticides under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. That is not merely a naming change - the revision attached specific, enforceable duties to the supervising certified applicator that did not previously exist.

A noncertified applicator may use an RUP only under the direct supervision of a certified applicator, and only if all the conditions below are met.

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Minimum Ages

Arkansas's rules cite the federal provisions expressly, which is why the Commercial Applicator Technician minimum age is 18 rather than a number the Board picked.

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What the Supervisor Must Do Before the Application

The certified applicator supervising a noncertified applicator must ensure that, before the noncertified applicator uses any restricted use pesticide:

1. Training or an equivalent credential. The noncertified applicator has completed the required pesticide safety training, or holds a qualifying credential such as being a certified applicator themselves, or holding a current WPS handler training that meets the requirement.
2. Labelling. The noncertified applicator has read the product labelling, or has had it read to them in a manner they can understand.
3. Use-specific instructions. The certified applicator has provided instructions covering the specific use, including how to apply the product correctly, the conditions under which the application must be made, and what to do in an emergency.
4. Access to the labelling. The product labelling is available to the noncertified applicator during the application.

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What the Supervisor Must Be, During the Application

The certified applicator does not have to be physically present unless the labelling requires it. What the rule does require:

• The certified applicator must be available if needed, and reachable by voice or electronic communication - a two-way radio, a mobile phone, or an equivalent means that actually works at the application site.
• If the labelling requires the physical presence of the certified applicator, that requirement is absolute and no communication arrangement substitutes.
• The certified applicator must have used the product, or used the application equipment, or reviewed the product labelling within the previous 12 months - the rule requires the supervisor to be genuinely competent with what they are supervising, not merely credentialed.
• The certified applicator remains responsible for the actions of the noncertified applicator.

[!WARNING] Exam Trap: "Within Voice Range" Is Not the Standard The common wrong answers are "the supervisor must be within sight," "within a specified number of miles," or "within voice range." The federal standard is that the certified applicator must be available if needed and contactable by voice or electronic means, unless the labelling requires physical presence. An item describing a technician in a hollow with no cellular reception and a failed radio is describing a genuine violation - not because of a distance limit, but because contact has been lost.

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Records

The certified applicator supervising noncertified applicators must maintain, for 2 years, records showing for each noncertified applicator:

• The person's name;
• Documentation of the qualification relied on - the training completed or the credential held, and the date; and
• The date the use-specific instructions were provided.

These are federal records, and they sit alongside - not inside - the Arkansas application records under Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 20-20-215 and the WPS training records under 40 C.F.R. pt. 170.

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How Arkansas Implements It

2 CAR Sec. 72-102(c) is the Arkansas mechanism:

• All commercial pesticide applications made by ground must be done under the supervision of a certified, licensed commercial applicator, as supervision is defined in Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 20-20-203.
• The driver or operator of the vehicle must be either a certified, licensed commercial applicator or a licensed Commercial Applicator Technician.
• To obtain a CAT licence the applicant must provide proof of completion of the CAT ground application training course established by the Board within four (4) months of application, and pay the review fee of $25.
• The CAT licence expires December 31 each year.
• A CAT must be at least 18 years old.
• $5 of every CAT licence fee is transferred to the Cooperative Extension Service to develop and provide CAT training.

The federal rule tells you what supervision means; the Arkansas rule tells you who may hold the wheel and what credential they need.

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Certification Categories and Recertification Under Part 171

Part 171 also sets the federal structure Arkansas builds its categories on - agricultural pest control with plant and animal subcategories, forest, ornamental and turf, seed treatment, aquatic, right-of-way, industrial and institutional, public health, regulatory, demonstration and research, and specialized categories such as soil and non-soil fumigation and aerial application. Arkansas adopts a subset: the categories in 2 CAR Sec. 72-101 do not include an ornamental and turf or a structural category, because that work is licensed under the separate Arkansas Pest Control Law. Certification under Part 171 may not exceed 5 years before recertification; Arkansas uses a 3-year certification cycle for commercial and non-commercial applicators and 5 years for private applicators, both of which sit inside the federal ceiling.