Ground Water Safety Act of 1988

Ground Water Safety Act of 1988 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to require a pesticide registrant or reregistrant to submit information to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the pesticide's potential for groundwater leaching. (Directs the Administrator, upon such registration, to determine a pesticide's leaching potential.)

Requires registrants, in the case of a positive leaching potential, to: (1) develop management practices to minimize such leaching; (2) disseminate such management information to applicators; and (3) conduct groundwater monitoring.

Requires a registrant, upon detection of groundwater contamination, to notify EPA, the State, the owner of the property, and any other person(s) relying on the underground source for drinking water or household needs.

States that if such contamination reaches or is likely to reach 25 percent of the EPA-established groundwater residue guidance level, the Administrator shall amend the registration to impose further restrictions on the pesticide's use. Authorizes the Administrator to consider the health effects of alternative pesticides in setting such restrictions.

States that if contamination reaches 50 percent of the groundwater residue guidance level, the Administrator shall notify and provide relevant information to the affected State(s). Directs the Administrator, if an affected State fails to act, to prohibit the pesticide's use in the vicinity of the underground source of drinking water.

Directs the Administrator to: (1) collect and make available to the public information on groundwater pesticide contamination; (2) provide technical assistance to States for groundwater protection programs; (3) conduct research activities to monitor the presence of pesticides in the unsaturated zone; and (4) enter into agreements with the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior to develop information systems for State and local officials, farmers, and applicators regarding soil, climate, and hydrology at specific pesticide use sites.

Authorizes FY 1989 through 1993 appropriations.

Requires States to develop and submit for EPA approval pesticide water pollution prevention programs. Authorizes: (1) the Administrator to provide financial assistance; and (2) FY 1989 through 1993 appropriations.

Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Administrator to issue groundwater residue guidance levels for FIFRA-registered pesticides.

Exempts farmers from liability under Federal environmental laws for releases or threatened releases of pesticides into the environment if they: (1) certify that they complied with labeling instructions and applicable law; (2) include in the certification information relating to the use of the pesticide; (3) keep records, for each pesticide application, of information required to be submitted in the certification; and (4) did not act negligently or recklessly. Imposes liability on registrants of the pesticide and of ingredients in the pesticide and on other parties responsible under Federal law when the farmer is exempted from liability.

Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) require registrants to provide information concerning the safe storage and disposal of excess or spilled pesticides and their ability to carry out recall plans; and (2) impose requirements and procedures on persons who store, transport, or dispose of a cancelled or suspended pesticide or materials used to contain or collect excess or spilled quantities of such pesticide. Deems a suspended or cancelled pesticide to be a hazardous waste unless its owner certifies to the Administrator, within 180 days of such cancellation or suspension, that the pesticide is to be relabeled, reformulated, exported, or otherwise used as a commercial product. Prohibits the storage of cancelled or suspended pesticides for more than three years.

Directs the Administrator to recall a suspended or cancelled pesticide when necessary for the protection of health or the environment. Reimburses registrants for a portion of the recall costs borne by such registrants after their submission to the Administrator of a recall plan which sets forth the recall schedule, the extent of such recall, and means to verify its effectiveness.

Requires the Administrator to develop: (1) design regulations for pesticide containers that will promote the safe storage and disposal of such pesticides; and (2) regulations for pesticide container residue removal. Directs the Administrator to conduct a pesticide container study and report the results of such study to the Congress within two years of this Act's enactment.

Amends the Act's definition of a pesticide.

Amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to prohibit such Act from precluding States or localities from imposing limits on pesticide residues in or on food that are more stringent than Federal limits.

Directs the Administrator to submit a report to the Congress by May 1, 1989, summarizing available data on abandoned production and injection wells and the impacts such wells may have on ground water quality.