RALEIGH
Aug 6, 2021
The N.C. Pesticide Board recently approved the following settlement agreements for cases in Craven, Forsyth, Guilford, Johnston, Person, Pitt, Rowan, Surry and Wake counties. Settlements involved cases of pesticide drift damage and improper purchasing, selling, disposal and application of pesticides. Settlements are listed by county below:
- (Craven) Andrew Bland, a licensed pesticide dealer for Cove City Fertilizer in Cove City, agreed to pay $800 for selling a pesticide without proper labeling on the container, which is a violation of state law. In a separate settlement, Bland agreed to pay $500 for improperly selling a restricted use pesticide to a golf course although the pesticide is only approved for agricultural use.
- (Forsyth) George G. Brummitt, the holder of a commercial pesticide applicator license for Grey’s Landscape in Winston-Salem, agreed to surrender his North Carolina Commercial Pesticide Applicator License for a period of one year. It was alleged that Mr. Brummitt threatened a state inspector while the inspector was investigating potential dumping of pesticides into a storm drain, which violates several provisions of the North Carolina Pesticide Law and/or regulations. Mr. Brummitt denied these allegations.
- (Guilford) Michael G. Morgan, a licensed private pesticide applicator from Randleman, agreed to pay $800 for the purchase and use of a soil fumigant pesticide from Triangle Chemical Company in Greensboro without proper licensing. Morgan was not certified in the soil fumigation category at the time. In a separate connected settlement agreement, Dustin A. Wrenn, a licensed pesticide dealer at Triangle Chemical Company, agreed to pay $400 for improperly selling a soil fumigant to Morgan.
- (Johnston) David Myrick of Selma, agreed to pay $500 for purchasing and applying restricted-use pesticides without proper licensing or certification, which violates state law.
- (Person) Steve D. Poole, a licensed private pesticide applicator in Roxboro, agreed to pay $500 because a pesticide applied to his hayfields drifted and caused damage to an adjacent tobacco crop. N.C. law states no person shall apply pesticides under such conditions that drift from pesticide particles or vapors results in adverse effects.
- (Pitt) Gene Michael Boyette, a licensed private pesticide applicator in Wilson, agreed to pay $800 for the improper purchase of a soil fumigation pesticide from Southern States in Farmville and for applying the fumigant to his fields. Boyette was not certified to buy or use soil fumigants.
- (Pitt) David Andrew Griffin, a licensed pesticide dealer for TriEst Ag Group in Greenville, agreed to pay $400 for three instances of improperly selling soil fumigants to private pesticide applicators, who were not certified in the soil fumigation category at the time.
- (Rowan) Christopher Hunt, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for On the Hunt Mosquito Control in China Grove, agreed to pay $400 because an employee made a pesticide application around the wrong home. The application violated state law, including the provision that states an applicator should not operate in a faulty, careless or negligent manner.
- (Surry) Robert Byron Weber, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for Naturchem in Greenville, agreed to pay $800 after an accusation that a Naturchem employee improperly applied a pesticide around a cell tower in a tobacco field near Dobson. The tobacco farmer noticed damage to his tobacco, and a state investigation found evidence that the pesticide may have contaminated soil around the tower before tobacco was planted.
- (Wake) Daniel Owens, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for Green By Nature, Inc., (d.b.a. Weedman Raleigh) agreed to pay $2,000 for use of pesticides inconsistent with their labeling, including improperly storing, labeling and using agricultural pesticides in residential applications.
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