This article identifies some of the most common reasons that documentation for feature X10.1 - Pest Management and Pesticide Use - is marked as pending in preliminary documentation review (WELL Certification) or round 1 (WELL at scale) reviews. This guidance does not include all possible reasons for a pending status, but provides information and context based on common review issues. 

Address all requirements

A common reason this feature is marked as pending is that the project team addresses some, but not all, of the requirements listed in the feature. The most commonly missed sections are (b), (c) and (e).

Section (b) requires project teams to provide a list of the pesticides used in the pest management plan. If no pesticides are in use, your documentation must clearly state that. In addition to listing the pesticides, your documentation must list which of the following requirements are met for those pesticides (meeting at least one): 

• Evaluated through the City of San Francisco Pesticide Hazard Screening Protocol with a Hazard Tier ranking of 3 (least hazardous).
• Listed in the most recent version of the City of San Francisco's Reduced Risk Pesticide List as directed in the list (including limitations).
• All active substances catalogued as ‘low-risk’ in the EU Pesticides Database.
• All active substances are marked as “Approved” in the EU Pesticides Database and are either classified as Class U or not classified in the latest version of “The WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard and Guidelines to Classification.”

Section (c) requires you to notify building occupants at least 24 hours before treatment. In case an emergency treatment is required, the notification should explain the type of emergency or reason for unplanned use. Your documentation must describe how and when you notify occupants in advance of pesticide application, including:

• How these notifications will be delivered (e.g., digitally, on signs posted throughout the space, etc.) 
• Pesticide name
• Registration number 
• Treatment location 
• Date of application 
• Applicator   

Section (e) states that occupants must have access to the pest management and pesticide plan, records of its implementation, products’ Safety Data Sheets and inspection reports. Make sure your documentation clearly states where this documentation is stored and how occupants and owners can access it.

Provide complete documentation

This feature requires that you submit a complete pest management plan as it is currently implemented in your space rather than a statement of your future intent to comply with feature requirements. The plan you submit must show strategies that are actually in place. It should also be specific to your project and avoid using generic statements.

Review and evaluate your plan

This feature requires an annual review and evaluation of the effectiveness of your project’s plan. The documentation you submit should include specific information about this evaluation, e.g., who conducts the review, how are the results analyzed, what factors do you consider when evaluating effectiveness, how are the results used to improve the plan in the future, etc.