Welcome to OPARR

The Problem
Anti-industry activists – and occasionally a legislator or regulator or two – continue to threaten the industry with attempts to:

• Limit the use and availability of proven, effective products;
• Create excessively burdensome notification requirements;
• Impose unnecessary reporting requirements;
• Impose additional licensing requirements – local or state;
• Undermine the confidence of the consuming public by making false, scientifically unfounded assertions about the benefits/risks of proven products and the ability of licensed professionals to use those products effectively while taking necessary precautions to ensure safety.

OPARR must and will continue to meet those threats.  Ohio’s homeowners, business owners and farmers need true professionals operating within a responsibly regulated business environment to protect their health, their safety, and their property and to enhance the value of their investments.

What is OPARR and How Has it Helped?

For the past twenty years, the Ohio Professional Applicators for Responsible Regulation (OPARR) has served all aspects of the pesticide and nutrient application industry – lawn care, pest control, nursery and landscaping, tree service, right-of-way maintenance, golf courses, distribution, formation and manufacturing – by:

• Establishing and maintaining effective legislative contacts;
• Building good working relationships with officials of state regulatory agencies;
• Providing testimony before legislative committees and regulatory bodies;
• Blocking excessively burdensome legislation and departmental regulation before introduction when possible;
• Working to make necessary updates to the law;
• Working with others to provide coordinated industry positions;
• Monitoring legislative initiatives in other states or nations (Canada) to prepare for similar initiatives in Ohio;
• Assisting regulatory agencies in acquiring the appropriations necessary to enforce reasonable statutes and regulations;
• Assisting regulators in developing rules that are constructive, not restrictive; and
• Assisting member who experience compliance problems.

Who Should Join?

Every business that supplies or applies insecticides, fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides

• Lawn care companies
  
• Pest management companies
  
• Tree care companies & arborists
  
• Landscapers
  
• Road & highway maintenance departments
  
• Golf courses
  
• Parks departments
  
• Farmers and agricultural co-ops
  
• Manufacturers of fertilizers, weed control, pest control and related products
  
• Licensed applicators in these and other industries6
  
• Employees of companies in these and related industries
• Trade and business associations representing members of these and related industries
  
• Individuals associated with member organizations who share a concern for public health and safety and environmental protection through responsible regulation and use of pest control, weed control, and fertilizer products