RESTRICTED USE PRODUCT
Purchasers of a restricted use product (RUP) are responsible for record keeping and following label requirements. Federal EPA or state inspectors can ask for private applicator records for two years back on an RUP. Not all private applicators will be asked for a record inspection, but some will.
It is the applicators responsibility to apply products correctly. As an example, Zinc Phosphide oat bait for ground squirrel control on rangelands in Wyoming requires placing one tablespoon of bait at 2 locations on opposite sides of mounds and pre-baiting is required to increase bait acceptance. For non-crop rights of way rules are slightly different depending on the target species. The label should be consulted depending on your target species and areas of use.
As another matter of concern, on any land where any agricultural product grown for sale and other workers are employed, the farm is subject to WPS standards. This means that as a grower, it is your responsibility to know and comply with the law. A grower falls under this authority if anyone other than immediate family is employed at the farm. Special rules apply for the applications of herbicides and informing workers each and every time an application is made. The landowner is responsible for WPS compliance.
You will be informed within 24 hours of an application on property owned or controlled by you. You can then have time to inform your employees on how to protect themselves from any unintentional herbicide exposure. These rules were put in place several years ago to primarily protect migrant workers. These rules were implemented by the EPA around 2000 and it is their feeling that everyone should have had an opportunity to be trained and be in compliance. It has been predicted that enforcement measures will increase in Wyoming.