Building support with regulatory agencies: Searching for win-win solutions

Laws and regulations have far-reaching implications. While the intent of a regulation may be noble, the implementation of the regulation may be difficult, costly, or have unintended consequences. I have volunteered with the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California since 2012 to discuss with different California regulatory agencies about how laws and regulations impact the ability of local mosquito control districts and agencies to complete our missions. For instance, California set a target of no trash in our rivers and the ocean. That means that cities are being required by the California Water Resource Control Board to put in devices that limit the ability of trash to get into the storm water. Mosquito control professionals still need to treat where the storm water is because the mosquitoes are still able to access the water and survive in storm drains. I worked with a team over the course of a year to set out a program to review these storm control devices to meet the basic needs that mosquito control professionals need to do their control work. A second instance is working with the Bureau of Cannabis Control to discuss pesticide amounts permitted on the final crop, one of these pesticides is one that mosquito control is the primary applicator. In this presentation, I will give discuss these examples as well as highlight resources that have helped the association be successful in our discussions.