The director shall endeavor to eliminate from use in the state any pesticide that endangers the agricultural or nonagricultural environment, is not beneficial for the purposes for which it is sold, or is misrepresented. In carrying out this responsibility, the director shall develop an orderly program for the continuous evaluation of all pesticides actually registered.
Before a substance is registered as a pesticide for the first time, there shall be a thorough and timely evaluation in accordance with this section. Appropriate restrictions may be placed upon its use including, but not limited to, limitations on quantity, area, and manner of application. All pesticides for which renewal of registration is sought also shall be evaluated in accordance with this section.
The director may establish specific criteria to evaluate a pesticide with regard to the factors listed in Section 12825. The department may establish performance standards and tests that are to be conducted or financed, or both conducted and financed, by the registrants, applicants for registration, or parties interested in the registration of those pesticides.