TJPR maintains resolution that defines safety limits for the application of pesticides

The application of phytosanitary products in the state of Paraná must observe parameters and minimum safety distances defined in state resolution. The decision is from the 5th Civil Chamber of the Court of Justice of Paraná and confirms a request made by the Public Ministry of Paraná which, in a public civil action, questioned in court the revocation, by the State of Paraná, of a resolution that stipulated minimum security conditions for the application of these substances. The pronouncement occurred in case number 0007098-76.2018.8.16.0004.

In 2018, the State published a normative act – Joint Resolution Sema/IAP/Seab/Adapar/CC 01/2018 – which revoked Resolution Sein 22/1985, which established safety limits for the application of pesticides in areas of water sources, close to to population centers, groups of animals, schools and crops susceptible to damage. In the public civil action, the MPPR, through the Curitiba Regional Office of the Specialized Action Group on Environment and Housing and Urbanism (Gaema) and the Public Prosecutor's Office for the Protection of the Environment of Curitiba, defended the importance of the rule for preservation of the environment and health protection of related populations and considered that the decision to revoke the rules was adopted without any technical analysis from the public environmental bodies involved, having been considered only a manifestation of the agricultural production sector.

Recommendation and injunction

In the first instance, the 3rd Public Finance Court of Curitiba had already granted the Public Ministry's request and declared the nullity of the act that revoked the security criteria. The recent decision, published in a TJPR ruling last week, on November 4, confirms the decision in the second level of jurisdiction and denies an appeal filed by the State of Paraná and the Instituto Água e Terra.

Prior to the filing of the legal action, the MPPR sought to resolve the issue administratively, by issuing an administrative recommendation to try to avoid the revocation of the resolution by the State. The measure, however, was not accepted.