(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