SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT OF 2001 (SEPA)
Your Congress members need to hear from you.
Communities across the country are acting in increasing numbers to protect
children from pesticides used at their schools, yet there are no national
protections or standards for children. To correct this situation and ensure
national leadership in protecting children from a daily dose of toxic
chemicals in their classrooms, playgrounds and ballfields, support is needed
on federal legislation, entitled the School Environment Protection Act 2001
(SEPA).
The U.S. Senate passed SEPA (S. AMDT. 805), under unanimous consent on June
19, 2001, as an amendment to S.1, Better Education for Students and Teachers
Act, (which amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act).
Letters of support are needed as S.1 moves through the Senate/House Joint
Conference Committee. Ask your Congress members to support Senate amendment
number 805 (SEPA) to S.1, as adopted by the Senate without weakening
amendments.
SEPA (S.AMDT. 805) is critical to providing a safer and healthier
environment for our children to learn. It is the result of an historic
agreement between organizations representing the environment, children and
labor and groups representing the chemical and pest management industry and
agriculture.
SEPA (S. AMDT. 805) provides basic levels of protection for children and
school staff from the use of pesticides in public school buildings and on
school grounds. This important piece of legislation requires public schools
to implement safer approaches to pest management that rely on a range of
non-chemical and chemical alternatives and requires notice be provided to
parents and school staff when pesticides are used. The tools and experience
to control school pests without using toxic chemicals are available
nationwide and have proven to be effective and economical. SEPA (S. AMDT.
805) will help to put the alternatives in place. If pesticides are used,
then clearly people have a right-to-know. The notification provisions are
crucial to parent involvement. (For a copy of SEPA, S.ADMT. 805, summary or
amendment language see http://www.beyondpesticides.org.)
This national effort has grown out of incredible success at the local and
state level in adopting policies that protect children from pesticides and
begin to establish pest management strategies that do not rely on
pesticides. However, the majority of school children in the U.S. remain
unprotected. The time is right for national protection.
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Show your support for the School Environment Protection Act of 2001 (SEPA)
__ I will contact my U.S. Senators and U.S Representative to request that
he/she support SEPA (S. AMDT. 805) as adopted by the Senate without
weakening amendments. (See sample letter below)
_______________________________________________________
__Sign my organization up as an endorser of SEPA (S. AMDT. 805). (See
current list of SEPA supporters below)
Name/Title ____________________________________________
Organization ___________________________________________
Street_________________________________________________
City, State _____________________________________________
Zip ____________________
Phone ______________________ Fax ______________________
Email___________________________
I will pass this information to my mayor, city council, local PTA and civic
associations to see if they will endorse SEPA.
_______________________________________________________
Please return this form to: Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP, 701 E Street, S.E.,
Suite 200, Washington DC, 20003
(202) 543-5450 voice, (202) 543-4791 fax, [log in to unmask],
http://www.beyondpesticides.org
For additional information on SEPA, please contact Kagan Owens, Program
Director at Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP
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Regional Public Interest Organizations
Advocacy for the Chemically Sensitive (FL)
Advocates for a Better Earth (PA)
Albany Coalition for Environmental Health (CA)
Arizona Toxics Information (AZ)
Arkansas River Coalition, Inc. (AR)
Berks Chemical Sensitivity Network (PA)
The Breast Cancer Fund (CA)
BURNT (TN)
Cancer Awareness Coalition, Inc. (NY)
Center for Environmental Connections (AZ)
Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens (CA)
Coalition for Environmentally Safe Schools (WA)
Colorado Pesticide Network (CO)
Community & Children's Advocates Against Pesticide Poisoning (CA)
Consumers Union, Southwest Regional Office (TX)
Department of the Planet Earth (DC)
Ecology Center (MI)
Environmental Advocates (NY)
Environment and Human Health, Inc (CT)
Generation Green (IL)
Get Set, Inc. (MI)
Grassroots Environmental Education (NY)
Green Cape Alliance for Pesticide Education (MA)
Hamilton-Wenham Pesticide Awareness Committee (MA)
Healthy Housekeeping Solutions (IN)
Healthy Kids: The Key to Basics (MA)
Healthy Schools Network (NY)
Improving Kids' Environment (IN)
Institute for Children's Environmental Health (WA)
IPM Institute of North America, Inc. (WI)
International. Resource Center for Chemically Induced Immune Disorders (IL)
Iowa PTA (IA)
Jordan Institute (NH)
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (ME)
Maine Toxics Action Coalition (ME)
Marblehead Pesticide Awareness Committee (MA)
Michigan Environmental Council (MI)-
Minnesota Children's Health Environmental Coalition (MN)
Missouri Safer Management of Pests and Landscapes, Inc. (MI)
Native Ecology Initiative (MA)
New Jersey Environmental Federation (NJ)
New Jersey/New York Environmental Watch (NJ/NY)
New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NY)
No Spray Zone (WA)
Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (OR)
People for Environmental Action and Children's Health (WA)
Pesticide Alternatives of Santa Clara County (CA)
Polk County Council of PTA/PTSAs (FL)
Protect All Children's Environment (NC)
Residents for Alternative Pest Policy (AZ)
Rural Action Safe Pest Control Program (OH)
Safe Air for Everyone (CA)
Safer Pest Control Project (IL)
Saint Paul Neighborhood Energy Consortium (MN)
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (CA)
Sudbury Earth Decade Committee (MA)
Swampscott Pesticide Awareness Committee (MA)
UCSF Cancer Resource Center (CA)
Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VT)
Washington Toxics Coalition (WA)
Wolf River Environmental Society (KS)
Women's Community Cancer Project (MA)
Government Entities:
Department of the Environment, City and County of San Francisco (CA)
Wellesley Health Department (MA)
Businesses:
American Enzyme, Inc. (MI)
Bio-Logical Pest Management (DC)
Eco-Cognizant, Inc. (FL)
EnviroSafe, Inc. (MI)
Institute of Pest Management, Inc. (MI)
Lamp'l Associates (NJ)
Nature's Lawn (NY)
QCU Inc. (FL)
Safe Earth Lawn & Garden Care, Inc. (IA)
Safe Solutions, Inc.
Seventh Generation, Inc. (VT)
Systems Pest Management
Updated 6/19/01
To add your organization, community or business to the list of supporters of
the School Environment Protection Act of 2001, please contact Kagan Owens,
Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP Program Director at [log in to unmask],
(202) 543-5450 voice, (202) 543-4791 fax, 701 E Street, S.E., Suite 200,
Washington DC 20003.
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June 19, 2001
The Honorable full name__
United States Senate (House of Representatives)
Washington, DC 20510 (20515)
Dear Senator (Representative) last name__:
I am writing to request your support of amendment number 805 (S.AMDT. 805),
the School Environment Protection Act of 2001, as included in the Better
Education for Students and Teachers Act, S.1. Your support of S.AMDT. 805,
as adopted by the Senate without weakening amendments, is critical to
providing a safer and healthier environment for our children to learn. S.
AMDT. 805 is the result of a historic agreement between organizations
representing the environment, children and labor and groups representing the
chemical and pest management industry and agriculture.
S. AMDT. 805 provides basic levels of protection for children and school
staff from the use of pesticides in public school buildings and on school
grounds. The National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) state that children are especially sensitive to
pesticide exposures as they take in more pesticides relative to their body
weight than adults and have developing organ systems that are more
vulnerable and less able to detoxify toxic chemicals. Even at low levels,
exposure to pesticides can cause serious adverse health effects.
S. AMDT. 805, the School Environment Protection Act of 2001 (SEPA):
ß requires local educational agencies to implement a school pest management
policy considering sanitation, structural repair, mechanical, biological,
cultural and pesticide strategies that minimize health and environmental
risks as developed by the state and EPA approved;
ß requires universal notification 3 times per year (at the beginning of the
school year, midyear, and once for summer session) of school pesticide use;
ß provides parents and school staff access to health and toxicity
information on all pesticides used in schools;
ß establishes a registry for parents and school staff to sign-up to receive
24 hour pre-notification of a pesticide application;
ß provides information on the pesticide¹s adverse health effects on the
notice provided via the registry;
ß requires signs to be posted 24 hours prior to the pesticide application
and remain posted for 24 hours;
ß exempts antimicrobials, baits, gels, and pastes from the notice via
registry and posting requirement;
ß requires the area where a pesticide application is to take place be
unoccupied;
ß requires record keeping of pesticide use and disclosure.
ß establishes 24 hour reentry period for pesticide applications made via
baseboard spraying, broadcast spraying, tenting or fogging, unless the label
specifies a specific reentry interval; and
ß does not preempt state or local school from adopting a policy that exceeds
provisions of the act.
The tools and experience to control school pests without using toxic
chemicals are available nationwide and have proven to be effective and
economical. S. AMDT. 805 will help to put the alternatives in place. If
pesticides are used, then clearly people have a right-to-know. The
notification provisions are crucial to parent involvement.
Thirty-one states have taken some action to step in and provide protective
action to address pesticide use in, around or near their schools. However,
no one state law contains all the elements included in this important piece
of legislation. Under existing state laws, 16 states require prior
notification be provided to parents before a pesticide application is made
to their child¹s school. This new legislation will bring the other 34 states
up to this minimum and essential standard. Also under existing state laws,
only seven states require schools use a pest management system that relies
on non-chemical and chemical strategies, focusing on alternative pest
management methods and on minimizing pesticide use. S. AMDT. 805 will
require all schools across the country to implement such pest management
strategies.
Thank you for your help in moving the protection of children from school
pesticide use ahead. Please support S. AMDT. 805, the School Environment
Protection Act of 2001, as adopted by the Senate without weakening
amendments.
Sincerely,
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