(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the director may issue a certificate of emergency registration for a pesticide if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The pesticide is currently registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Section 3 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136a) for the use specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5).

(2) The active ingredient of the pesticide was previously registered under Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136p) in order to respond to an emergency pest control problem.

(3) The applicant demonstrates to the department that the pesticide qualifies for registration pursuant to Section 12815 and the department determines that it is probable that the pesticide will receive registration pursuant to this division within one year.

(4) The applicant for emergency registration submits to the director all data required for registration pursuant to this division and the regulations adopted pursuant to this division.

(5) The director makes both of the following findings based on substantial evidence:

(A) The use of the pesticide during the period of emergency registration will not pose a potential significant risk to public health or safety or to the environment. In making this finding, the director shall review the risks associated with the use of the pesticide and determine if those risks are significant given the limitations that will be imposed on the use of the pesticide during the emergency registration period.

(B) The emergency registration of the pesticide is necessary in order to effectively respond to an emergency pest control problem. For purposes of this subparagraph, an emergency pest control problem shall be deemed to exist if the director finds that a pest infestation is present in the state for which no feasible pest control method is available that is a reasonable alternative to the use of the pesticide for which the emergency registration is requested. In making a determination pursuant to this subparagraph, the director shall identify the pest infestation that is the subject of the emergency, describe the pest control methods that have been demonstrated as ineffective against the infestation or that are otherwise not reasonable alternatives, and summarize the evidence that demonstrates that the pesticide for which emergency registration has been requested is efficacious against the pest infestation.

(b) At the same time as the director issues a certificate of emergency registration for a pesticide pursuant to this section, the director shall establish limitations on the use of the pesticide that the director determines are necessary to prevent a potential significant risk to human health or safety or the environment. The director shall limit the use of any pesticide granted a certificate of emergency registration to the control of the emergency pest infestation described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).

(c) A certificate of emergency registration may be issued for a period not to exceed one year and may be renewed one time only.

(d) A certificate of emergency registration may not be renewed unless the director does all of the following:

(1) Publishes a notice that an application for renewal of the certificate of emergency registration has been received.

(2) Makes all of the following findings:

(A) That the findings made by the director in support of the certificate of emergency registration pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) remain valid.

(B) That there are no indications that the pesticide, when used in accordance with applicable label instructions and the limitations established pursuant to subdivision (b), poses a significant risk to worker safety and health. The director shall base this finding on a review of the data required for registration pursuant to this division, experience with the use of the pesticide during the period the certificate of emergency registration was in effect, and any other information the director has required the applicant to submit or received from the applicant or any other person.

(C) That the failure to complete the registration of the pesticide during the period the certificate of emergency registration was in effect is due to circumstances that were not under the control of the applicant, and that the data required for registration pursuant to this division is complete and meets all of the requirements of this division and the regulations adopted pursuant to this division.

(3) Convenes a workshop, if one is requested by any interested or aggrieved person, concerning the reasons for the renewal of the certificate of emergency registration. The director shall review information and comments provided by persons who attend the workshop and take that information and those comments into account in determining if the certificate of emergency registration may be renewed.

(e) The director shall immediately revoke any certificate of emergency registration issued pursuant to this section if either of the following occurs:

(1) The United States Environmental Protection Agency suspends or cancels the registration of the pesticide or the particular use of the active ingredient in the pesticide that allows it to be used in the emergency pest infestation described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).

(2) The director determines during a subsequent review of data required for registration pursuant to this division that the use of the pesticide will pose a potential significant risk to the public health or safety or to the environment.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 361, Sec. 49. Effective January 1, 1997.)