Helicopter company, pilot contest fines in S. Oregon case
A helicopter spraying company and a pilot who were each fined $10,000 for spraying pesticides on rural homes in Southern Oregon have asked for an administrative hearing at which they will contest the penalty.
Pacific Air Research Inc. of White City and applicator Steven Owen were assessed the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s biggest fines during 2014, and their pesticide licenses were revoked for a year. However, because they have contested the department’s findings, they have not yet paid the fine and are free to operate, said Dale Mitchell, manager of the department’s pesticide program. A hearing will be held in April.
The original incident happened in October 2013, when residents of the Cedar Valley area near Gold Beach in Curry County complained they’d been sickened in a spraying operation intended for commercial timber. An ag department investigation showed the company and pilot sprayed the wrong property, applied more than the label recommends of one product and filed multiple false records about pesticides used.
The department “absolutely” stands by its findings, Mitchell said.
The Pacific Air case was among 505 alleged pesticide violations investigated during the year. Another $10,000 fine was levied against Glass Tree Care and Spray Service Inc., a Eugene company, for a 2014 incident in which an estimated 1,000 bees were killed when blooming linden trees at a Eugene apartment complex were sprayed with a neonicotinoid pesticide. Applicator James Mischkot Jr. was fined $6,000.
The department issued 34 civil penalties totaling $62,423 during the year, choosing “education and outreach” in the vast majority of cases, Mitchell said. The most common violations involve incomplete record-keeping, failing to have all employees properly licensed and applying pesticides in a manner inconsistent with label instructions or in a negligent manner, Mitchell said.
The following penalties were issued to companies using unlicensed pesticide applicators: TJW Croach LLC (PestFree) of Beaverton, $2,775; Dobyns-Hart Pest Control, Pendleton, $814 and applicator Chad Griffin, $407; Northwest Landscape, Tualatin, $814; All Natural Pest Botanical Solutions Inc., Redmond, $407.
Penalties issued for applying a pesticide product inconsistent with its labeling: A&J Landscape Maintenance, Inc., Beaverton, $555; Farmers Supply Cooperative, Ontario, and applicator Tyler Taylor, $407 each.
Penalties for applying pesticides in a faulty, careless or negligent manner: Samuel Pollock, Hermiston, $2,035; David Goracke, Shedd, $555; Cascade Tree Farms, Estacada, and applicator Alfonzo Mendoza, $407 each; Applebee Aviation Inc., Banks, and applicator Patrick Hall, $407 each; Willamette Valley Helicopters, Newport, $407.
Other violations during the year included: Crop Production Services, Cornelius, $3,678 for selling a restricted use pesticide product to an unlicensed individual; Winco Winfield LLC, Mt. Angel, $1,628 for selling restricted use pesticides to a number of unlicensed individuals; Coastal Home and Farm Supply LLC, Woodburn, $2,700 for selling an unregistered pesticide; J.R. Simplot Co., Independence, $320 for distributing an unregistered pesticide to Oregon Vineyard Supply of McMinnville; Central Oregon Ranch Supply, Redmond, $300 for selling a pesticide that was not in the manufacturer’s original package; EcoCare LLC of Ridgefield, Wash., $1,628 for using multiple unlicensed applicators; Michael Dell, David Murphy, Johseph Pipher and Daryl Pipher, $407 for being unlicensed.
EcoCare also was penalized $555 for applying a pesticide inconsistent with its labeling, and three individuals with the company were fined $555 each. The Brickman Group LLC, Tualatin, was penalized $555 for using an applicator whose license had expired; the applicator, Jose Aldaco, was issued a $555 penalty for applying a pesticide inconsistent with its labeling.