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Key Takeaways
What Happened: The California Department of Pesticide Regulation announced that the first meeting of its Environmental Justice Advisory Committee will take place on December 10, 2025.
Who's Impacted: Manufacturers, distributors, and users of pesticide products.
What Companies Should Consider Doing In Response: Tracking the newly established Committee's recommendations and monitoring for future developments in this space.
Background
Earlier this month, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced that it will host the first public meeting of its newly formed Environmental Justice Advisory Committee (EJAC) on December 10, 2025. Established by Assembly Bill (AB) 652 in 2023, the EJAC will advise DPR on environmental justice (EJ) concerns in communities with the highest exposure to pesticides. DPR appointed the members of the inaugural EJAC earlier this year.
For years, advocates have raised concerns that farmworkers in California – the majority of whom are of Latin-American descent – may face an elevated risk of exposure to pesticides. According to an analysis published by California Environmental Protection Agency researchers in the American Journal of Public Health in 2015, pesticide use represents one of the most 'unequally distributed' pollution sources with regard to race and ethnicity in California. According to DPR's Pesticide Use Annual Report (2023), the San Joaquin Valley is the region of highest pesticide use in the state.
Earlier this year, the EJAC published a Scope of Work that presents a useful preview of the Committee's expected activities and priorities. Among other things, the EJAC is charged with helping DPR integrate EJ, promote equity in decision-making, strengthen community engagement, identify barriers and solutions, and review progress and accountability.
A draft charter is also available. It states that EJAC's purpose is to provide an "ongoing, formal public forum for meaningful involvement of environmental justice community members in pesticide issues impacting them." Further, the charter provides that EJAC will hold at least two public meetings annually, at least one of which will be held in "a community with high pesticide use." Importantly, it also states that EJAC's prioritized recommendations will be "done through a public process and take public feedback into consideration."
Next Steps
DPR's recent activity in this space is consistent with California's ongoing commitment to EJ, even as the federal government has eliminated its own EJ policies. For a broad overview of various state actions, see our previous alert.
Though the EJAC "holds no inherent decision-making authority," the Committee's Scope of Work indicates that it will advise DPR and "serve as a liaison between DPR and communities most impacted by pesticide use." DPR will maintain final authority to accept or implement EJAC recommendations, but the Committee's recommendations are likely to influence DPR's regulatory decisions and enforcement priorities.
EJAC's December 10 meeting agenda is available here. Pesticide industry stakeholders should consider monitoring DPR's EJ-related developments and comments submitted through EJAC's public processes. While details of the exact format and structure of EJAC's next steps have not yet been announced, future EJAC meetings and publications may provide useful insight into the perspectives of impacted communities and help companies shape their engagement activities accordingly. Tracking forthcoming EJAC recommendations may be especially helpful for California pesticide registrants to prepare for potential DPR regulatory and enforcement updates.
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