2.2 Notification Registry, Occupied Buildings & School IPM (CMR 01-026 Ch. 26–28)
Key Takeaways
- The Chapter 28 Registry notice applies to outdoor nonagricultural applications within 250 feet of a listed residence's property boundary and is delivered 6 hours to 14 days in advance.
- A separate Chapter 28 request process generally uses 500 feet for ground applications and 1,000 feet for aerial applications; those distances are not Registry boundaries.
- Covered outdoor commercial applications are posted before treatment and for at least two days using weather-resistant signs at least 5 inches wide by 4 inches high.
- Chapter 26 generally requires 24-hour-to-7-day advance notice in covered occupied buildings and 48-hour common-area posting after treatment.
- Schools use an IPM coordinator and two-year log; nonexempt treatments receive five-day notice and signs posted two working days before through 48 hours after application.
Notification Registry, Occupied Buildings, Schools, and Outdoor Posting
Maine notification rules are site-specific. Chapter 28 governs outdoor notification and posting, Chapter 26 covers many occupied buildings other than kindergarten-through-grade-12 schools, and Chapter 27 establishes school integrated pest management requirements. Do not combine their distances or timing into one universal rule.
Chapter 28: Pesticide Notification Registry
The Registry addresses outdoor, nonagricultural pesticide applications near a listed residence. A commercial applicator must notify a person on the Registry when the target area is within 250 feet of the property boundary of the listed residence. The former statement that the Registry uses a separate 500-foot aerial boundary is incorrect.
Registry notice must be delivered no earlier than 14 days and no later than 6 hours before the planned application. Permitted delivery methods include personal notification, telephone contact, or mail within the rule's conditions. The notice identifies the planned location and date or time range, the product brand name and EPA registration number, and contact information for the company or applicator. If the schedule changes, follow Chapter 28's update provisions rather than silently treating outside the stated window.
Chapter 28 also contains a separate request-notification process. An occupant of a sensitive area can request advance notice of nearby outdoor applications: generally within 500 feet for a ground application or 1,000 feet for an aerial application. When feasible, that notice is given at least one day before the application. These request distances are not the Registry boundary. On an exam, identify which mechanism the facts invoke before selecting a distance.
Outdoor posting
Chapter 28 requires posting for specified commercial applications in Categories 3A Outdoor Ornamentals, 3B Turf, 6B General Vegetation Management, 7A Structural General Pest Control, and 7E Biting Fly and Other Arthropod Vectors, subject to the rule's stated exceptions.
Post signs before application and leave them in place for at least two days afterward. A sign must be weather resistant and at least 5 inches wide by 4 inches high. Place signs so people approaching through customary access points can see them. Use the BPC-prescribed warning language and include the required application and contact information. “At least 48 hours” is a useful duration equivalent, but “two days” is the wording to recognize.
Posting informs people at the treated site. It does not replace individual Registry or request notification, and it does not waive label reentry directions. Multiple duties can apply to one job.
Chapter 26: occupied buildings
Chapter 26 applies to pesticide applications in occupied buildings other than K-12 schools, which are governed by Chapter 27. Its purpose is to give occupants meaningful information while addressing urgent health or structural problems.
For a planned application to a residential unit or other covered occupied space, required notice is generally provided at least 24 hours and no more than 7 days in advance. The rule distinguishes notice to the person responsible for the building, notice to occupants, treatment of an individual dwelling unit, and treatment of common areas. Common-area notices remain posted for 48 hours after treatment.
A residential tenant may generally object to a proposed treatment inside the tenant's unit. The rule permits an override when immediate treatment is needed to protect public health or enforce a building or housing code, after alternatives have been tried and documented as required. The correct response is not to ignore the objection; document communications, evaluate nonchemical and less intrusive measures, and follow the rule's emergency pathway.
Notice is not a substitute for label instructions. Occupants must remain out of a treated area for any label-restricted entry interval, ventilation period, or longer period imposed by the applicator for safety. Provide product-specific information when the rule or an occupant's request requires it.
Chapter 27: K-12 school IPM
Each school must designate an IPM coordinator. A newly appointed coordinator receives an initial overview within one month, completes comprehensive coordinator training within one year, and completes at least one hour of continuing education annually. The school maintains an IPM log for two years.
For a nonexempt pesticide application, the school provides notice to parents, guardians, and staff at least five days in advance. The required notice explains the planned treatment and how to obtain more information. Signs are posted at the treatment area at least two working days before the application and remain for 48 hours afterward.
Chapter 27 does not impose a universal “12-hour school reentry” rule. During an indoor application, unprotected people may not be in the same room or treatment area, and the product label's restricted-entry, ventilation, and other precautions control afterward. Applications should be scheduled to minimize exposure, commonly during weekends or vacations, but scheduling preference does not override a more restrictive label.
The school rule contains exemptions for lower-exposure or urgent uses, including specified antimicrobial products, ready-to-use general-use products, enclosed baits and traps, crack-and-crevice gel or paste placements, and emergency responses such as a stinging-insect hazard when the stated conditions are met. An exemption from advance notice is not an exemption from the label, licensing, records, IPM decision-making, or other applicable law.
A decision sequence
Before an application, ask:
- Is the site outdoors, an occupied non-school building, or a K-12 school?
- Is anyone on the Chapter 28 Registry, or has an occupant made a separate request?
- Does the category require an outdoor posting sign?
- Does Chapter 26 require advance occupant notice or allow a tenant objection?
- Does Chapter 27 require five-day school notice and two-working-day advance posting, or does a listed exemption apply?
- What reentry, ventilation, notification, or posting language appears on the label?
Document the answers and the notices delivered. A correct application may require individual notice, on-site signs, and label-based exclusion at the same time.
What boundary triggers Registry notice for a covered outdoor nonagricultural application?
What is the Chapter 28 timing window for notice to a Registry participant?
Which timing combination applies to a planned, nonexempt K-12 school pesticide application?
Which statement accurately describes a covered Chapter 26 occupied-building application?