RALEIGH
Dec 21, 2022
The N.C. Pesticide Board recently approved the following settlement agreements for cases in Carteret, Davidson, Duplin, Guilford, Lenoir, Macon, Mecklenburg, Nash, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Rowan and Washington counties. Settlements are listed by county below:
- (Carteret) Michael S. DeSantis, of DeSantis Landscaping in Newport, agreed to pay $800 for applying pesticides commercially in Beaufort without having a licensed commercial pesticide applicator on staff.
- (Davidson) Wesley Young Hopkins Jr., of Hopkins Hill Farm in New Hope, agreed to pay $1,000 for applying a pesticide to a field in the Denton area without the proper license and the required additional training for paraquat application. The application resulted in drift to a residential swimming pool nearby, which violates the law stating pesticides should not be applied under such conditions that drift from pesticide(s) particles or vapors results in adverse effect.
- (Guilford) Brett J. Clinch, the holder of a commercial pesticide applicator license for TruGreen in Greensboro, agreed to pay $300 because an employee of the company applied a pesticide to an incorrect residential lawn in Greensboro.
- (Guilford) Oscar W. Goods, a manager at PetSmart in Jamestown, agreed to pay $800 for applying flea and tick treatments with an expired commercial pesticide applicator license. Goods had previously been warned with a Notice of Non-Compliance.
- (Lenoir) Joey A. Murphrey of Eastern Exterior Landscaping in Snow Hill, agreed to pay $900 for applying pesticides commercially in Kinston without having a licensed commercial pesticide applicator on staff. The company had previously been warned with a Notice of Non-Compliance.
- (Macon) Thomas A. Sartain, a pilot and holder of an aerial pesticide applicator license for Industrial Helicopters in Lafayette, La., agreed to pay $4,000 for violations related to aerial pesticide applications to a utility right of way in Macon County. Investigations found indications of improper pesticide application over water and pesticides coming in contact with non-target vegetation. The applications violated state law/regulations that prohibit operating in a faulty, careless or negligent manner and making a pesticide application in a manner inconsistent with its labeling, which stated the products used should not contact water or non-target vegetation.
- (Mecklenburg) Christopher Lee Kikes, the manager of Fatboys produce in Charlotte, agreed to pay $1,000 for applying a fire ant insecticide around produce, which is a manner of use inconsistent with the product’s labeling.
- (Mecklenburg) Khamla Vongvoraseng, of Veggie on the Run, agreed to pay $1,000 for applying a fire ant insecticide around produce, which is a manner of use inconsistent with the product’s labeling.
- (Nash) Trevor Vandemark, the holder of a private pesticide applicator license for Vandemark Farms near Whitakers, agreed to pay $800 for applying certain pesticides to his sod farm that were not labeled for use on turf or sod farms.
- (Orange) William G. Moore, of NC Lawn Solutions in Hillsborough, agreed to pay $1,200 for applying pesticides commercially in Hillsborough without a commercial pesticide applicator license.
- (Rowan) Stanley T. Stikeleather, an employee of Nutrien Ag Solutions in Statesville, agreed to pay $800 because drift from a pesticide application he made to a field near Salisbury resulted in adverse effect to orchard grass in a nearby pasture. Stikeleather was also found to have applied the paraquat herbicide without the required training.
- (Pender) Allen L. Smith Jr., of Castle Bay Golf Course in Hampstead, agreed to pay $800 for applying pesticides at the golf course during a time when his commercial pesticide applicator license had expired.
- (Pitt) William E. Davis, of Alex PineStraw and Mulch in Greenville, agreed to pay $800 because a crew he managed applied pesticides to landscaping and lawns in Winterville and Greenville without a commercial pesticide applicator license.
- (Pitt) David Andrew Griffin, the holder of a pesticide dealer license for TriEst Ag Group in Greenville, agreed to pay $2,100 for making a restricted use soil fumigant pesticide available to an applicator who didn’t have the proper fumigant certification and for incomplete records related to that transaction.
- (Duplin) In relation to the above Pitt County case involving David Griffin, Avery Lee Cottle, the holder of a private pesticide applicator license for Cottle Farms near Faison, agreed to pay $1,800 for applying a fumigant pesticide without the required certification on his license.
- (Washington) Jessie T. Spruill, a licensed private pesticide applicator in Plymouth, agreed to pay $800 for improperly disposing of pesticides containers, specifically violating the state regulation that states “no person shall dispose of, discard or store pesticides or pesticide containers in such a manner as may cause injury to humans, vegetation, crops, livestock, wildlife or to pollute any water supply or waterway.”
-bhh,4-