College of Agriculture

State chemist’s office issues temporary regulatory compliance guidance in response to pandemic

Story by Abby Leeds
March 23, 2020

The Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC) is releasing new temporary guidance regarding compliance with state pesticide and fertilizer regulatory requirements in Indiana. This is in consideration of disruptions to normal operations being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following modifications are being implemented immediately but may be subject to change, as the COVID-19 issues continue to evolve. For updates, please visit https://www.oisc.purdue.edu/pesticide/:

All pesticide and fertilizer applicator certification training and examining sessions scheduled at Purdue University through May 17 have been canceled.
Group training and examining sessions at Purdue scheduled to occur after May 17 also may be subject to cancellation. However, for now these sessions are being evaluated on a week-to-week basis in the event that current guidance regarding COVID-19 changes.
Pesticide applicators using or supervising the use of restricted use pesticides (RUPs) during 2020 must be certified and licensed, just as has been required previously. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not suspended or modified this legal requirement; therefore, OISC will not either.
OISC will suspend the Registered Technician requirements for pesticide and fertilizer applicators operating under the supervision of a certified applicator when using only general use pesticides (GUPs). The requirement to pass the Core exam and apply for a Registered Technician credential will be suspended through Dec. 31 unless another date is determined to be necessary by legal counsel.
All supervision requirements for noncertified applicators and registered technicians will remain in place. But new technicians will not be required to obtain a credential as long as the current situation exists.
Nothing in this temporary regulatory guidance shall exempt any applicator from complying with all other existing requirements, such as using a pesticide in a manner consistent with the product label directions.

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