NPMA, Committee Members Chart Future Course at Leadership Week

On Tuesday, members of NPMA’s WDO, Lawn Care, and Wildlife divisions held concurrent sessions to discuss challenges and opportunities within these segments. Also on Tuesday, NPMA’s Technical Committee, headed by Committee Chair Judy Black (Steritech) and NPMA’s Greg Baumann, discussed its strategic goals for assisting NPMA. Specifically, the committee talked about the need to change its perception from that of an “oversight committee” to a resource committee. To that end, a proposal that was popular among committee members was to have at least one member serve as a correspondent on other NPMA divisions. For example, Orkin's Paul Hardy would serve as the Technical Committee’s correspondent for the Lawn Care division.

An important meeting on Wednesday was held by the Government Affairs Committee, headed by Committee Chair Mike Katz (Western Exterminator) and NPMA Senior Vice President Bob Rosenberg. At this meeting, the committee reviewed recent regulatory decisions and also looked ahead at pending and potential future issues.

For example, Katz described the struggle PCOs in California underwent to block legislation that would have imposed strict regulations on the exterior use of second generation, anticoagulant rodenticides. Rosenberg and NPMA Manager of Government Affairs Gene Harrington helped with efforts to persuade the California Department of Natural Resources to adopt a more “industry friendly” solution that could serve as a national model. Thanks to NPMA's input, California DPR agreed to allow the continued use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides on exteriors only "when placed by a licensed pest control operator in inaccessible areas (e.g., tamper-resistant bait stations, rodent burrows)."

Another important issue discussed at both the WDO division meeting and the Government Affairs Committee was an overhaul to the regulation of termite work by state regulatory agencies. Currently, state regulatory agencies regulate termite work by examining if the application: was made using efficacious materials; followed the label instructions; and was properly performed by an adequately trained, certified and supervised applicator. ASPCRO, RISE and NPMA are exploring the possibility of having state regulatory agencies change their enforcement focus. Under this new proposal, rather than state regulatory agencies focusing enforcement on the manner in which termite treatments are made, termite control would be regulated through benchmarks that establish success or failure based on the protection provided to the consumer. For example, this new proposal might lead to regulators conducting fewer application surveillances and more record inspections.