The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is encouraging residents to familiarize themselves with the new Provincial Integrated Pest Management Regulation (IMPR) that will come into effect July 1, 2016.
The Ministry of Environment (MoE) recently amended the IMPR to further regulate the use and sale of pesticides. The changes are intended to ensure that pesticides are used by people with knowledge and training and to promote the responsible use of pesticides.
“The MoE have developed a series of fact sheets and guidance documents to describe the changes and how it applies to residents, vendors, landscapers, and operators of golf courses, gardens and cemeteries and those who manage industrial lands using pesticides,” said Koreen Gurak, CVRD’s manager of community engagement and education. “For the property owner, the changes essentially mean that the use of some pesticides in landscaped areas on private land will now require a licence or certificate and retailers of pesticides are required to restrict access to most pesticides.”
The changes to the IPMR do not override the local municipal bylaws regarding the use of pesticides. The City of Courtenay, Town of Comox and the Village of Cumberland have bylaws that prohibit the use of pesticides, however some applications are exempt from the bylaws.
The following treatments are allowed and are listed in both the provincial schedule 2 and local area municipal bylaws. These treatments are also exempt from the new provincial residential applicator certificate requirement.
Insecticidal and herbicidal soap
Insect bait stations
Pheromone traps
Borax/Boran compounds
Nematodes and other biological control organisms
Dormant oils and horticultural oils
Injected tree treatments
Bordeaux mixture, sulphur compounds
Lime sulphur
Ferric phosphate
Diatomaceous earth
Please note: local municipalities’ pesticide use bylaws currently do not allow for the provincial schedule 5 pesticide use at this time.
For over a decade, the CVRD has been providing education and awareness on the use of pesticide alternatives by people in municipalities with pesticide bylaws, and by others who simply want to know more about creating pesticide-free lawn and gardens. For the next several months the CVRD will be evaluating the provincial changes on a local level - assessing the effect on the local retail sale of pesticides to better understand the impact to the CVRD’s education program.
For more information on the use of pesticide alternatives and to links to the new provincial regulations and fact sheets, visit www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/pesticidealternatives. Homeowners wanting to dispose of pesticides can return them in their original containers to a “Product Care” certified facility such as the Comox Valley waste management centre (3699 Bevan Road, Cumberland). The collection of these products occurs during the operational hours of the household hazardous drop-off station, Thursdays and Fridays from 9:30 am – 5:30 pm.
The Comox Valley Regional District is a federation of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing sustainable services for residents and visitors to the area. The members of the regional district work collaboratively on services for the benefit of the diverse urban and rural areas of the Comox Valley.