2.6 PA Prior-Notification & Neighbor Notice Requirements

2.6 PA Prior-Notification & Neighbor Notice Requirements

Pennsylvania goes beyond the federal label in one important way: for many restricted use pesticide applications, the Commonwealth requires the applicator to tell people before spraying. These duties live in Subchapter C of 7 Pa. Code Chapter 128 and in Act § 25.1. They are heavily tested and frequently overlooked, and a missed notification is unlawful conduct under Act § 28 regardless of how correctly the product itself was applied.

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The Notification Framework

Subchapter C organizes notification by the kind of site being treated:

Scope reminder: §§ 128.81-128.84 are triggered by restricted use pesticides. Section 128.85a is different - it is driven by the site (lawn, turf, ornamental or shade trees) and by a neighbor's written request, not by the product's restricted use classification.

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What Must Be Told, and When

When a resident asks for details - a request that must be made at least 7 days prior to the proposed application date under §§ 128.81 and 128.84 - the pesticide application business must provide constructive notification with all of the following at least 12 hours prior to the time of application:

1. The proposed date and time of the application.
2. The brand name of every restricted use pesticide to be applied, including the EPA registration number.
3. The business name, address, and telephone number.

Two additional timing rules to memorize:

• Under § 128.83a, when an agricultural applicator uses constructive notification as the alternative to newspaper publication, it must be given at least 18 hours prior to the time of application; a personalized request is answered at least 12 hours prior.
• On written request, the pesticide application business must supply copies of the pesticide labels within 10 days.

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Exceptions Worth Knowing

The regulations exclude applications that pose little or no bystander exposure:

• Applications made directly below the soil surface are excepted from agricultural prior notification under § 128.83a - unless a well or spring exists within 25 feet of the application site, or a soil fumigant is used.
• Section 128.82 excepts applications to detached structures, subsurface applications, tamper-resistant bait trays or stations, and tree or pole injections.

These exceptions reward careful reading. A subsurface application near a spring is not excepted, and a soil fumigant is never excepted.

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Ornamental and Turf Notification - § 128.85a

This is the rule most relevant to Pennsylvania lawn care and landscape firms.

• Who may ask: "A person who wishes to be notified of future pesticide applications to lawn, turf, ornamental or shade trees on neighboring property shall submit a written request to the licensed pesticide application business."
• Geographic limit: the requester's property must be a neighboring property sharing a mutual property border within 100 feet of the pesticide application site.
• Notice period: the business must provide written notification at least 12 hours before the application.
• Content: the application date and time, the brand names with EPA registration numbers, and the business contact information.
• Expiration: requests expire annually on December 31, so a neighbor who wants continuing notice must renew the request each year.

Operational takeaway: a lawn care firm needs a live, per-route list of standing § 128.85a requests, refreshed every January. Notification obligations attach to the business, not to the individual technician who happens to run the route that day.

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Additional Statutory Restrictions - Act § 25.1

The Act directs the Secretary to adopt regulations covering three further situations:

1. Aerial application of restricted use pesticides to rights-of-way may occur only after notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected area, published at least one week prior to the date of application. The regulations must address minimum spraying distances and procedural prohibitions and restrictions relating to weather conditions.
2. Prior notification by commercial applicators to individuals residing in dwellings on land contiguous to a restricted use pesticide application site, with the mechanism, timing, and form set by regulation - the statutory basis for §§ 128.81-128.84.
3. A prohibition on applying restricted use pesticides within 100 feet of certain publicly owned or designated lands unless a waiver is granted. The protected areas are designated natural areas on State forest lands and areas designated on the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) containing rare or endangered species or significant natural communities. A waiver requires the applicant to show the application is necessary and produces a demonstrated public benefit, will not adversely affect the use of the protected area, and will not destroy rare or endangered flora or fauna or a significant natural community.

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Notification Recordkeeping - § 128.88

Every notification given is itself a record. A business that notifies under Subchapter C keeps documentation showing who was notified, how, and when, alongside the application records required by § 128.35. In a drift or exposure complaint, PDA will ask for both sets. Treat the notification log as part of the job file, filled out the same day - not reconstructed months later from memory.

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Compliance Checklist Before a Restricted Use Application

1. Classify the site: right-of-way, nonagricultural specific site, agricultural, area-wide, or ornamental/turf.
2. Confirm the product's classification: is it restricted use? If so, §§ 128.81-128.84 are in play.
3. Check the standing request list for § 128.85a neighbors within 100 feet sharing a mutual border, and confirm the requests have not expired on December 31.
4. Choose the notification route: newspaper publication in two papers of general circulation, or constructive notification of contiguous dwellings.
5. Meet the clock: 12 hours for a personalized request, 18 hours for agricultural constructive notification, one week for a newspaper notice preceding aerial right-of-way application.
6. Check protected lands: confirm the site is not within 100 feet of a designated State forest natural area or a PNDI-listed area without a waiver.
7. Log it under § 128.88 and keep it with the § 128.35 application record for 3 years.