RALEIGH
Jan 21, 2021
The N.C. Pesticide Board recently approved the following settlement agreements for cases in Burke, Caswell, Columbus, Durham, Johnston, Polk, Surry and Wake counties. Settlements involved cases of drift damage, improper pesticide application and the improper selling of pesticides. Settlements are listed by county below:
- (Burke) Johnny T. Staples Jr., a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for Nexus Solutions in Galivants Ferry, S.C., agreed to pay $1,200 because a company employee sprayed pesticides that allegedly drifted onto a nearby construction crew in Morganton. The application was inconsistent with the pesticides’ labeling and a violation of North Carolina law that states no person shall apply pesticides in a faulty, careless or negligent manner or under such conditions that drift from pesticide particles or vapors results in adverse effects.
- (Caswell) Joe V. Chason, a licensed aerial pesticide applicator, for Agricultural Air Services LLC in Jupiter, Fla., agreed to pay $1,200 for alleged drift damage to muscadine vines and residential trees at a home in Blanch. North Carolina law states that no person shall deposit a pesticide aerially within 100 feet of a residence and that no pesticide shall be deposited onto any nontarget area in such a manner that could cause an adverse effect.
- (Durham and Wake) Richard A. Cohen, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for Mosquito Joe in Raleigh, agreed to pay $2,900 for the two following cases:
- A company employee applied insecticides to a drainage ditch at a Durham home, a violation of North Carolina law because it was a manner of application inconsistent with the pesticides’ labeling.
- A company employee improperly applied an insecticide at a Raleigh home, which resulted in pesticide drift that exposed bees on blooming plants and a child in a neighboring yard. The application was inconsistent with the pesticide’s labeling and a violation of North Carolina law that states no person shall apply pesticides as to endanger people or their environment or under such conditions that drift from pesticide particles or vapors results in adverse effects.
- (Columbus) Robert A. Bass, a certified private pesticide applicator in Whiteville, agreed to pay $600 for drift damage to a corn field in Chadbourn. North Carolina law states that no person shall apply pesticides under such conditions that drift from pesticide particles or vapors results in adverse effects.
- (Columbus) Henson Chad Cox, a licensed aerial pesticide applicator for Allen Aviation in Aynor, S.C., agreed to pay $1,400 for drift damage onto a residential property in Tabor City. North Carolina law states that no person shall deposit pesticides by aircraft on the right-of-way of a public road or within 25 feet of the road and no pesticides shall be deposited aerially within 100 feet of a residence.
- (Johnston) Phillip S. Peedin, a licensed pesticide dealer for Nutrien Ag Solutions in Princeton, agreed to pay $1,400, for selling a restricted use pesticide to an uncertified applicator and for falsifying records related to the sale.
- (Polk) Benjamin Loran Lynch, a certified private pesticide applicator in Mill Spring, agreed to pay $1,000 for an improper pesticide application in his orchard, which resulted in the death of bees from a nearby hive. The application violated North Carolina laws, as the application was inconsistent with the pesticides’ labeling and done in a faulty, careless or negligent manner.
- (Surry) Jeremy W. Johnson, a certified private pesticide applicator in Mount Airy, agreed to pay $600 for drift damage to a tobacco field in Mount Airy. North Carolina law states that no person shall apply pesticides under such conditions that drift from pesticide particles or vapors results in adverse effects.
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