Biden EPA proposes restoring pesticide protections for farmworkers rolled back under Trump

The Biden administration is proposing to restore regulations aiming to protect farmworkers from pesticides that had been rolled back under the Trump administration. 

The Trump administration sought to limit the scope of rules preventing pesticides from being sprayed when there are people nearby. 

Under Obama administration rules, there either needed to be a 100-foot zone or a 25-foot zone with no people around pesticide spraying depending on how prone the chemicals were to causing accidental exposures. The rule included both on-farm and off-farm areas if they would otherwise be within the zone’s boundary. 

But the Trump administration got rid of the 100-foot category for pesticides that are applied on the ground, meaning only 25 feet would be required between pesticides and people. 

It also said that the protected areas can only go as far as the boundary of a farm’s property — meaning that people can stand near the pesticides so long as they are officially off the property where the pesticide is applied. 

The Trump rule was prevented from taking effect after it was halted in court, but it remained officially on the books. 

The Biden administration proposed to formally restore those provisions of the Obama-era protections on Thursday. 

In a written statement, EPA Administrator Michael Regan called the new proposal “a significant step forward to further protect the farmworkers, farmers and pesticide handlers who deliver the fuel, fiber and food that runs America.”