Commission adopts revised reduced‑risk pesticide list and asks staff to analyze phasing out Tier 1 herbicides in parks

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Commission on the Environment voted March 22 to adopt the Department of the Environment’s 2016 reduced‑risk pesticide list with new restrictions on the city’s most hazardous herbicides and added a formal request that staff analyze how the city might significantly reduce — or phase out — Tier 1 herbicides in public parks.

The package that the commission approved added operational limits and transparency measures intended to cut overall herbicide use. Department staff proposed a ban on purely cosmetic applications, a 15‑foot buffer from most public paths, contractor training and oversight, mandatory use of a blue indicator dye to mark treated plants, new posting and barrier requirements around treated areas, and a requirement that licensed applicators directly supervise certain on‑site treatments after a six‑month implementation window.

"We are the toxics‑reduction program — we try to reduce toxics every day," said Chris Geiger, the Department’s Integrated Pest Management program manager, describing the department’s review process and the new restrictions. "This package is intended to whittle away the uses that are approved for these products while preserving tools to…