By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Lawn care companies that spray pesticides must now supply written notification to Erie County residents.
A county-wide pesticide notification law was approved by the Erie County Legislature Thursday.
Under the law, applicators must give residents living within 150-feet of pesticide applied areas a written notice.
Republican Elise Cusack said the county decided to create a law after conducting a successful voluntary notification program last year.
"Erie County residents do want to be notified. We had over 12,000 residents that registered voluntarily," said Cusack. "It was a tough thing for the lawn care industry to keep up with in a situation where it wasn't necessarily mandatory."
But the legislature approved the measure as a sunset provision. This will allow lawmakers to re-evaluate the law after one year.