S.L. 430.8 Art. 8Specific practices and uses - aerial spraying.

(1) Without prejudice to sub-regulation (2), aerial spraying shall be prohibited.

(2) On the advice of the Pesticides Control Board aerial spraying may only be allowed in special cases, provided the following conditions are met:

(a) there must be no viable alternatives, or there must be clear advantages in terms of reduced impacts on human health and the environment as compared with land-based application of pesticides;

(b) the pesticides used must be explicitly approved for aerial spraying by the Director following a specific assessment addressing risks from aerial spraying;

(c) the operator carrying out the aerial spraying must hold a certificate as referred to in regulation 4(3). During the transitional period where certification systems are not yet in place, the Director may accept other evidence of sufficient knowledge;

(d) the enterprise responsible for providing aerial spray applications shall be certified by the Authority;

(e) if the area to be sprayed is in close proximity to areas open to the public, specific risk management measures to ensure that there are no adverse effects on the health of bystanders shall be included in the approval. The area to be sprayed shall not be in close proximity to residential areas;

(f) as from 2013, the aircraft shall be equipped with accessories that constitute the best available technology to reduce spray drift.

(3) (a) The Authority shall establish the specific conditions by which aerial spraying may be carried out, for examining requests pursuant to sub-regulation (4) and for making public information on crops, areas, circumstances and particular requirements for application including weather conditions where aerial spraying may be allowed.

(b) In the approval, the Authority shall specify the measures necessary for warning residents and bystanders in due time and to protect the environment in the vicinity of the area sprayed.

(4) (a) A professional user wishing to apply pesticides by aerial spraying shall submit a request for approval of an application plan to the Authority accompanied by evidence to show that the conditions referred to in sub-regulations (2) and (3) are fulfilled. The request for application of aerial spraying in accordance with the approved application plan shall be submitted, within ten working days prior to the intended date of aerial spraying application, to the Authority. It shall contain information about the provisional time of spraying and the amounts and the type of pesticides applied.

(b) In particular circumstances such as emergency or specific difficult situations, single requests for application of aerial spraying may also be submitted for approval. Where justified, the Authority shall have a possibility to apply an accelerated procedure in order to verify that the conditions referred to in sub-regulations (2) and (3) are fulfilled before the application of aerial spraying.

(5) The Director shall ensure that the conditions referred to in sub-regulations (2) and (3) are met by conducting appropriate monitoring.

(6) The Authority shall keep records of the requests and approvals as referred to in sub-regulation (4) and shall make available to the public the relevant information contained therein such as the area to be sprayed, the provisional day and time of the spraying and the type of pesticide, in accordance with the applicable national or Community law.