The Ne
w Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Worker Protection regulations [N.J.A.C. 7:30 Subchapter 12] provide New Jersey’s rules for the protection of farmworkers. Prior to EPA’s revision of the federal Worker Protection Standard in 2015, New Jersey’s Agricultural Worker Protection regulations were more stringent than EPA’s 1992 WPS (as amended).
EPA’s 2015 revision of the WPS now includes many of the requirements of New Jersey’s existing regulations. Revised Federal regulations take primacy when New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regulations are less stringent, and vice versa. However, there are instances where the two rules differ, and require interpretation.
The NJDEP proposed revision of their pesticide regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:30 for the Pesticide Control Code on May 20, 2019. The revisions to N.J.A.C. 7:30 incorporate new federal requirements not previously addressed by New Jersey regulations. Additionally, the revisions addressed conflicts between the State and federal rules. A copy of the rule proposal (PDF) is available from the NJDEP website at www.nj.gov/dep/rules/proposals/20190520a.pdf . The finalized rule will be published in the New Jersey Register. Currently, NJDEP expects that implementation of the final revised N.J.A.C. 7:30 rule will be in early spring 2020. Rutgers will announce this via its NJAES WPS blog, and update its WPS website accordingly.
For specific questions or concerns about NJDEP’s implementation of the revised WPS, please contact Supervisor of the Worker Protection Unit Nancy Santiago at 609-984-6568, or contact her by email at pcp@dep.nj.gov. See the current regulations at https://www.nj.gov/dep/enforcement/pcp/regulations/Subchapter%2012.pdf.