(a) The Corporation shall establish procedures for
determining when pest population levels have reached economic significance.
The Corporation will estimate pest populations using generally accepted
entomological methods, including, but not limited to, pheromone traps,
visual inspection and, when necessary, estimate nymph and egg distribution
by examining the citrus flush; and establish thresholds to determine
when treatments are necessary. This will be done for each pest management
zone and will encompass both the initial infestation phase as well
as post-treatment. The Corporation shall establish criteria to declare
when suppression is maximized.
(b) The Corporation shall establish a treatment regimen
that seeks to provide the least possible risk to human health and
the environment. The treatment regimen must consider all cultural
controls; and, when the treatment regime must consider the use of
pesticides, such pesticides must be considered on the basis of low
toxicity and the least potential for environmental hazards. To achieve
these objectives, the treatment regimen shall require, include, or
incorporate the following:
  (1) Provisions mandating maximum compliance with pest
control requirements, and considering other appropriate cultural controls;

  (2) Development of emergency response plans to minimize
the health and environmental threat posed by accidental pesticide
contamination;
  (3) Selection of pesticides and other cultural controls
or other methods based on the severity of pest infestation, location
of pest management zones, climatic conditions, and other factors that
may contribute to the efficacy of the treatment;
  (4) Specification of the duration, application rate
and frequency, type of application, and total amount of the active
ingredient used, taking into consideration cost per acre;
  (5) Evaluation and selection of pesticides considering
their acute and chronic toxicity, reproductive and developmental effects,
acute and delayed neurotoxicological potential, and carcinogenic and
other possible toxicological endpoints;
  (6) Consideration of possible risks to workers, mixers,
loaders, and applicators to ensure that occupational exposure (via
all routes) to the pesticides does not cause adverse health effects;
  (7) Assurance that adequate safety and protection are
provided to workers consistent with state and federal worker protection
standards by adhering to the precautionary statements and the reentry
intervals, personal protective equipment, and other requirements of
law, and where state and federal standards differ, by adhering to
the more stringent requirement;
  (8) Methods for informing the public of possible health
risks that could result from exposure to the pesticides used;
  (9) Working in cooperation with the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and
the Department, and providing consideration of the impact of pesticide
use on endangered, threatened, and non-target organisms (plants, aquatic,
and wildlife) and their habitats and assurance that precautionary
and remedial measures are considered to mitigate the exposure; and
  (10) Cooperation with all agencies concerned including
the USDA, United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department, the Department, and the Texas Natural
Resources Conservation Commission, to furnish collected data and assist
in further study of the fate, mobility, and persistence of pesticides
and their metabolites in soil, water, and air, and assistance in establishing
the strategies for their safe use and disposal.
(c) The Corporation shall develop a long-term control
plan that will describe the methods to be used in each pest management
zone for the purpose of suppression of the pests and diseases. The
plan must specify the procedures that will be used to minimize the
effect of the use of pesticides in long-term control plans. In developing
the procedures to be used for minimizing the effects of the use of
pesticides, the plan must consider the potential impact of each pesticide
used in the suppression program as conducted by the Corporation on
the following parameters:
  (1) Human health and safety;
  (2) Soils;
  (3) Vegetation;
  (4) Water quality of both surface and groundwater;
  (5) Air quality;
  (6) Non-target wildlife, domestic animals, and aquatic
and insect species; and
  (7) Other methods of control to be employed or considered
for employment.
(d) The Corporation shall consider the acute and chronic
toxicity of the particular pesticides used in the suppression program.
In addition to the guidelines set forth in subsection (b)(5) of this
section, the following parameters shall be considered by the Corporation:

  (1) Human exposure and risk analysis to:
    (A) The public; and
    (B) Workers;
  (2) Non-target species analysis of:
    (A) Terrestrial species; and
    (B) Aquatic species; and
  (3) Environmental fate.
(e) In consideration of the analysis required by subsection
(d)(1) of this section, and notification requirements provided for
in §27.501 of this title (relating to Protection of Individuals,
Livestock, Wildlife, and Honeybee Colonies), the Corporation shall
consider additional methods of notification, as appropriate for specific
zones.
(f) Subject to procedures established by subsection
(a) of this section, the Corporation shall only treat or cause to
be treated citrus trees which meet or exceed the approved treatment
thresholds, and shall only treat with the appropriate amount of approved
pesticides.
(g) The Corporation shall establish methods for verifying
pesticide use reduction resulting from the pest and disease suppression
programs as conducted by the Corporation. The Corporation shall maintain
an annual record of total amount of each pesticide used in the suppression
program in each pest management zone, shall conduct an evaluation
at the end of each year of pesticide use in the pest and disease suppression
program, and maintain the most recent data, when available. For other
insecticides used, the Corporation shall develop methods to assess
insecticide use for other citrus pests and diseases.


Source Note: The provisions of this §27.502 adopted to be effective December 6, 2015, 40 TexReg 8637