April 24, 2002 - Pesticide Board approves two trust fund grants

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The North Carolina Pesticide Board approved two grants from the Pesticide Environmental Trust Fund (PETF) and approved eight settlement agreements with individuals alleged to have broken state pesticide laws during a recent regularly scheduled meeting. They are the following:

• Dennis H. Englishman of Oak Ridge agreed to pay $300 for commercially applying Roundup Weed and Grass Killer at several locations without a license. It is against N.C. law to engage in the pesticide application business without a pesticide license. Englishman is now a licensed ground pesticide applicator.
• Fred R. Hoffman Jr. of Buffalo, N.Y. agreed to pay $600 for allowing a pesticide product to drift onto a hay field while spraying a right-of-way in Stanley. The label of both pesticides used, Arsenal Herbicide and Krenite S, state that they should not be used on food or feed crops and should not be applied under conditions that favor drift.
• Marshall M. Newton of Raeford agreed to pay $400 for allowing the pesticide Def-6 to drift onto a property next to a cotton field he was spraying. The label states that the pesticide should not be used when weather conditions favor drift.
• Michael G. Clark of Greenville agreed to pay $400 but denied wrongdoing for allegedly making an aerial application to a cotton field adjacent to Cocowinity Middle School while the school was occupied. Samples of soil and vegetation on the school property revealed the presence of the main ingredients of the pesticides used on the field. State law regarding aerial applications prohibits the application of a pesticide within 300 feet of the premises of an occupied school.
• John M. Leatherwood of Canton agreed to pay $300 for allowing a pesticide to drift onto an adjacent property of a tomato field he was spraying which was within 300 feet of the Pigeon River. Soil samples from the property revealed the active ingredient of the pesticides used. The label of the pesticide indicates it should not be allowed to drift and it should not be applied within 300 feet of a body of water because of the possibility of runoff or drift.
• James Al Privette of Wake Forest agreed to pay $400 for purchasing and using two restricted-use pesticides without having the proper certification. Privette is now a certified applicator.
• PBI/Gordon, Corporation of Kansas City, Mo. agreed to pay $2,000, the maximum allowable penalty, for selling a pesticide that had the wrong ingredients. The assistant superintendent of Seven Lakes Country Club in Seven Lakes applied the herbicide Bensumec 4L to their golf greens, practice greens and nursery greens and the herbicide caused the turf to yellow. PBI/Gordon issued a recall 11 days later that indicated the batch had been contaminated at the factory. The lot contained three ingredients that should not have been included in the formula. It is against state pesticide law to distribute products that have been adulterated or misbranded.

Tony M. Jones of Mount Olive agreed to pay $300 for causing damage to vegetation on a property next to a tobacco field he was spraying with Command 3ME. Label language states that it should not be applied when weather conditions favor drift, it should not be applied within 1,200 feet of residential housing, or within 300 feet of favorable vegetation. Jones is restricted from using any product containing clomazone until Dec. 31.

The Board granted R. C. Long of N.C. State University Crop Science Department $23,277 from the PETF for a study of the "Precision Application of Reduced Volumes of Agrochemicals." Long wants to use digital camera technology with a mechanical topper on a high clearance sprayer to make precise application of sucker control chemicals to individual tobacco plants. Long said this technology may be able to be applied to other crops if successful. The advantages of precise placement of agricultural chemicals include a reduction in chemical cost, reduced residues, less worker exposure, and decreased potential for chemical release into the environment.

The Board also granted $86,125 from the PETF to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Pesticide Section for continuation of the department's Pesticide Container Recycling Program. This program awards grants to eligible local governments to establish a new recycling program or enhance an existing program. The program has been funded for the past seven years. Eighty-one counties now have current active pesticide container recycling programs.

The Board received a final report from Ron Townley of the Land-of-Sky Regional Council which received $20,000 in PETF grant money in 2000 to establish a regional pesticide and household hazardous waste collection program in Buncombe, Madison and Transylvania counties.