TO: Mayor Fitzgerald and Members of Halifax Regional Council

SUBMITTED BY:

K.R. Meech, Chief Administrative Officer

Dan English, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer

DATE: August 10, 2000

SUBJECT: Pesticide by-law

ORIGIN

. Various reports, presentations and deliberations by Regional Council concerning pesticide use in HRM.

. May 23, June 13 and June 29, 2000 public hearing sessions and Council's July 11 approval-in-principle of the Pesticide By-law subject to revisions identified at that session.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that Regional Council:

1. Give final reading to attached By-law P-800, being the Pesticide By-law which includes revisions directed by Council;

2. Adopt by resolution attached Administrative Order No. 22, being the Pesticide Exclusion List; and

3. Adopt by resolution the attached Enforcement Policy.

INTRODUCTION

At its July 11, 2000 session, Regional Council approved, in principle, to adopt the proposed Pesticide By-law, subject to implementation as follows:

Year 1 (2000/01):
Ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides on municipal property and commencement of a public awareness program.

Years 2&3 (2001/02/03):
Commencing April 1, 2001, a ban on cosmetic use of pesticides on municipal property and on residential properties located within a 50 metre radius of:
. a property registered as being occupied by persons at risk who provide medical documentation;
. any school, licensed day care, bus stop, playground, park, church, licensed seniors' residence, university or hospital.

Year 4 (2003):
Commencing April 1, 2003, a general ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides would apply to all properties in HRM affected by the by-law.

A revised by-law with provisions as stipulated by Regional Council is appended to this report. Also attached is an Administrative Order which lists pesticide products to be excluded from the by-law, as well as a Policy on the level of enforcement service to be provided.

The following is intended to provide Council with information as to the manner in which a municipal program aimed at implementing the by-law would be structured and delivered.

DISCUSSION

Successful implementation of the Pesticide By-law will rely to a large degree, on structuring a municipal program around the by-law based on the following principles:

. voluntary compliance, versus compliance through costly enforcement processes;
. public awareness and education, through community partnerships and the promotion of safe and practical pesticide alternatives;
. industry buy-in, from the perspective of commercial supply and application;
. leadership through example, by HRM; and
. minimizing expense and confusion, particularly during the by-law's phase-in period.

In keeping with the above principles, staff from various municipal business units having a direct interest met on two separate occasions to identify the manner in which the by-law would be administered and rolled-out as a municipal program. Following are the results of the staff discussions.

A. Program Administration/Management

As indicated in previous reports, the overall responsibility for administering a municipal program related to the Pesticide By-law would reside with Parks and Recreation Services. An individual at the coordinator level within the department would be assigned responsibility for project/program management including:

. overall communications, including media and identification/promotion of pesticide alternatives;
. developing business plans, budgets and identifying resource requirements and opportunities to integrate program activities with those of other business units;
. maintaining the pesticide property registry, including notification of affected property owners;
. determining what constitutes an "infestation" or "danger to human beings" in order to permit pesticide application as a remedial measure;
. maintaining/updating the list of products excluded from the by-law; and
. coordination of an integrated turf management program as it relates to municipally-owned lands.

HRM Parks and Recreation Services intends to establish a staff position which, among other responsibilities, includes the above, and appoint someone to this position by late Summer/early Fall. In the meantime, the project will continue to be jointly managed by Planning and Development and Parks and Recreation Services.

B. Public Awareness/Education

Identification and promotion of safe and practical alternatives to pesticides will be an integral part of the overall program. In this regard, there is a need to:

. develop an identity for the pesticide program;
. promote awareness of broader public health and environmental objectives;
. utilize various media to relay the message; and
. forge partnerships with businesses, individuals and groups to support aspects of the program.

Parks and Recreation, in conjunction with Shared Services staff are currently developing an overall communications strategy for this initiative. Among other elements, it would include an Internet web page linked to the HRM home page and to related sites such as those of other municipalities. (The cities of Toronto and Nepean, Ontario, for example, have each developed Internet sites aimed at promoting pesticide alternatives.)

Activities related to public awareness also provide opportunities to forge community partnerships and for citizens to participate directly in the pesticide avoidance program. They also provide opportunities to build on other municipal initiatives related to Solid Waste/Resources (ie. composting), Harbour Solutions (ie. source pollution prevention) and Parks and Recreation (ie. "Cities in Bloom", leisure programs, etc.). Further details related to public awareness/education will become apparent as the communications strategy and the overall program become more fully developed.

C. Technical and Administrative Support

There are a number of technical and administrative considerations which must be addressed in preparation of the by-law becoming more broadly applicable after this year. It will be necessary to identify and provide the technical and administrative means necessary to sustain the program over both the initial phase-in period and the long term.

Technical:
Matters of a technical nature are being addressed with technical support from Information Services and Shared Services. These include the following:
. developing/maintaining a registry of all properties to be protected during the phase-in period;
. establishing a 50-metre buffer around protected properties and identifying all properties subject to the by-law during the phase-in period;
. generating letters to property owners within the 50-metre buffer notifying them of the restrictions on pesticide application;
. establishing procedures to update the property registry and to ensure accuracy of property notifications.

Administrative:
Procedural matters are part of the ongoing administration of the by-law/program and are the responsibility of the lead department. These include the following:
. responsibilities/procedures for responding to general enquiries about the by-law;
. procedures for accepting medical documentation from persons at risk;
. procedures for accepting/considering applications re: infestations/public health;
. public advertising as to the by-law's applicability and procedures prior and subsequent to April 1, 2001 and April 1, 2003.

D. Resource Matters

A significant level of effort will be required to ensure successful implementation of the Pesticide By-law during the initial start-up phase (prior to April 1, 2001), its subsequent phase-in (April 1, 2001 - 2003) and full implementation (After April 1, 2003). Initial efforts will focus on establishing a reliable property registry and on effectively responding to both general enquiries and more specific enquiries related to application and enforcement. It will be necessary to allocate specific staff resources for these purposes, particularly during the initial start-up and phase-in stages of the by-law. Resourcing requirements are reflected in the budget estimates provided in the following section of this report.

E. By-law Enforcement

Numerous factors such as budget constraints, response time, staff expertise etc. can affect the level of by-law enforcement. As indicated in previous staff reports, HRM's only liability exposure relative to the Pesticide By-law is the need to adopt an enforcement policy which reflects factors such as those just identified. The Enforcement Policy is attached to this report. In summary, enforcement will rely upon complaints and eye witness testimony. It can also be assumed that staff will not be able to arrive at the property until well after the alleged offence. Staff wishes to emphasize that, as the focus of the overall program is on voluntary compliance, leadership by example and the promotion of practical alternatives, enforcement should be viewed as a last resort.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS

Previous staff reports estimated the costs of implementing to be the Pesticide By-law, including start-up costs, to be in the area of $269,000 - $308,000. These estimates have been updated to reflect the current version of the by-law as approved in principle by Council. A more detailed summary is provided in Appendix "B". As indicated in previous reports, all costs associated with the Pesticide By-law are currently not budgeted. It will be necessary to identify the manner in which the tart-up costs for the program will be funded from this year's operating budget and to address multi-year program costs through future operating budgets.

The revised cost estimates are summarized as follows:

1. Estimated start-up costs up to April 1, 2001
$119,000 - 154,000
Less recoverables
N/A
Total start-up costs
$119,000 - 154,000

2. Estimated multi-year costs April 1, 2001 - April 1, 2003
$216,500
Less recoverables
- 37,500
Total costs to April 1, 2003
$179,000

3. Estimated multi-year costs after April 1, 2003
$105,000
Less recoverables
-37,500
Total costs after April 1, 2003
$68,000

The main cost elements up to April 1, 2003 relate to costs associated with establishing/maintaining the property registry (Presumably, there would be no cost recovery through registration fees, but some associated with permits involving infestations), providing written notification to property owners and enforcement (Based on the level of enforcement defined in the attached Enforcement Policy).

MULTI-YEAR FINANCIAL STRATEGY IMPLICATIONS

The proposed pesticide program will have multi-year financial impacts. Estimates on the initial costs, related to start-up, short term costs, anticipated over the phase-in period and long term, multi-year costs have been provided in this report. Staff's April 25th report indicated that potential savings in the Mandatory Education Rate could possibly be allocated to the pesticides by-law to cover start-up costs. Since that time HRM has been informed by the Province that the Municipality will be responsible for significant new costs next year for which no current means of recovery has been identified. As a result, the Mandatory Education funding amount has all been set aside in Reserve. Funding for start-up costs may be available from under-expenditures in this year's operating budget, but it is too early in the fiscal year to identify specific accounts. Staff will provide Council with an update as the financial picture becomes more clear.

ALTERNATIVES

Council may choose to not adopt the Pesticide By-law or to make further amendments to the by-law, the administrative order or the enforcement policy.

ATTACHMENTS

Pesticide by-law P-800 (PDF File)
List of Allowed Products (Administrative Order 23)

Appendix "A1"- Administrative order Number 22, Exclusion List
Appendix "A2"- Enforcement Policy
Appendix "B" - Cost Estimates - HRM Pesticide By-law

Additional copies of this report, and information on its status, can be obtained by contacting the office of the Municipal Clerk at 490-4210, or Fax 490-4208.

Report Prepared by: ________________________________________________
Jim Donovan, Project Coordinator - 490-6782

Report Approved by: ________________________________________________
Paul Dunphy, Director of Planning and Development
________________________________________________
Karen MacTavish, Director of Parks and Recreation

Enforcement Policy for
HRM By-Law Respecting the Regulation of Pesticides,
Herbicides and Insecticides

Purpose: To provide a policy of the Halifax Regional Municipality regarding enforcement of the HRM By-Law Respecting the Regulation of Pesticides, Herbicides and Insecticides.

Policy:
. Enforcement of the by-law will be reactive to complaints received and preventative enforcement patrols seeking violations will not be undertaken;

. Response time to complaints will depend upon location of the alleged violation and resources available. It is anticipated that given the staffing levels and the size of the Municipality, staff will typically arrive after the alleged application has been completed;

. Investigation into alleged violations will rely primarily rely upon eye witness testimony and physical evidence such as product containers;

. General Environment Canada weather reports will be utilized to determine alleged violations of the by-law's weather condition restrictions. As a result micro-climate information will only be available through eye witness testimony;

. Plant samples will not normally be taken at the scene of an alleged violation and tested for pesticide residues;

Violations:

. The first approach to achieving compliance with the By-law will be through attempted education and mediation and persuasion of alleged violators.

. Repeat violations will be ticketed and/or prosecuted where sufficient evidence is available to support such action.

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