The enabling legislation that created the Washington State Commission on Pesticide Registration (WSCPR) also directed the WSCPR to provide a program for tracking the availability of effective pesticides for minor crop and emergency uses in Washington (HB 1009: July 23,1995). This mandate resulted in the creation of the Pesticide Notification Network (PNN), which has been operated for the WSCPR by Washington State University (WSU) since its inception in early 1997.

The purpose of the PNN is to inform Washington State pesticide users of registration and label changes for products of interest to agriculture. The system does this by distributing information to commodity commissions, grower groups, and individual growers involved in Washington State’s diverse agriculture. The PNN also distributes information to Washington State University Cooperative Extension personnel. The system currently distributes information to a total of 166 contacts across the state.

One goal of the PNN is to get the right information to the right people. This is done by sending each PNN notification to a targeted distribution list. When people sign up for PNN service, they customize their "subscription" both by crop and by the pesticide types of interest. In this manner, an entomologist conducting research on tree fruit will receive only information about insecticides registered for use on tree fruits while the Washington Blueberry Commission receives notifications relating to all pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides) that may be used on blueberries. The PNN is a free service and anyone who is interested in subscribing to the PNN may do so.

In addition to actively distributing information via e-mail notifications, the PNN also provides information on its Web site found at URL: http://www.pnn.wsu.edu.

In CY 2003, the PNN distributed 283 notifications via 12,405 individual transmittals. "Notification" refers to a unique message, while "transmittal" refers to a single piece of correspondence, typically an e-mail, used to convey the message; one notification is distributed via many transmittals. The table below summarizes the activity of the PNN from its inception in 1997 through 2003. In 2003 the number of notifications distributed on the PNN decreased from an average of 348 for the preceding four years to 283. The decrease in PNN activity in 2003 is likely due to WSDA's changeover to a mandatory two-year cycle for all Washington pesticide registrations. Note that while the number of notifications did drop, the total number of transmittals remained relatively high.

The most significant change to the PNN in 2003 is a project that won't be complete until early 2004. Efforts began late in the summer to convert the PNN from Microsoft's Access program to a Web-based system. When complete, this conversion will allow PNN notifications to be sent as e-mail text rather than as attachments as is currently the case. Direct e-mail is easier for users to receive than attachments. The Web-based program will also allow related materials (attachments and previously sent PNN notifications) to be linked to the notifications. The changeover will also result in overall improvements to the PNN Web page. Once the project is complete, all current and prior PNN notifications will be available for review on the Web page. Users will also be able to search PNN notifications by year, crop, and/or keyword. A keyword search of the SLN and Section 18 tables will also be available. Finally, the new system will allow users to add, review, modify, or delete their subscriptions online. The new PNN system will be launched in early February 2004.

Early in 2003 an updated list of all state restricted use pesticides (SRUPs) was, once again, posted on the PNN Web site. The list includes product name, ingredient, EPA number, SLN number, and registrant name; the list is sorted and made available in four formats. This list is very popular among PNN users and has been maintained on the Web site for the last three years. Producing this list was very time consuming and problematic. Through efforts of several members of the WSPRS staff, this issue was addressed. SRUP information can now be obtained directly from the PICOL label database (wsprs.wsu.edu) by searching on "Use Category Equals State Restricted Use."

As in the past, the PNN distributed several "special topic" notifications in 2003. These types of notifications cover issues outside the registration, labeling, and federal regulatory information that is normally provided on the PNN. Special topic PNN notifications distributed in 2003 include:

• WSDA's exemption of homeowner aquatic use mosquito products as SRUPs,
• WSDA's thiamethoxam/pome fruit, use restrictions,
• WSDA's rule change for temporary field storage tank capacity, and
• Request for input on necessary late-season uses for the list of 54 chemicals in the Washington Toxics Coalition case against EPA.

When WSU-mandated budget cuts were imposed in July 1, 2002, the PNN discontinued distributing notifications covering information distributed in the Federal Register (REDs, risk assessments, and PR notices published by EPA). This reduced PNN service remained in effect throughout 2003.