RALEIGH – The N.C. Pesticide Board recently approved the following settlement agreements. Settlements involved cases in Cleveland, Edgecombe, Lenoir, Martin, Mecklenburg, Rowan and Union counties. Cases included instances of pesticide drift, applying pesticides without a license and improper buying and selling of pesticides.

Settlements are listed by county below:

• (Cleveland) Dirk O. Frommann, owner and operator of Aero-Tech Helicopters, agreed to pay $1,800 because pesticide sprayed during an aerial treatment of a tomato field also landed on a person, her property and a nearby public road. N.C. law states it is a violation to spray a pesticide beyond the intended target.

• (Edgecombe) Bennett B. Lewis, II, of commercial applicator Parkway Ag, agreed to pay $1,000 to settle allegations of drift damage to a tobacco field on a neighboring property. State inspectors believe an employee of Parkway Ag applied pesticides to soybeans under such conditions that drift from the pesticide particles or vapors resulted in adverse effects to nearby tobacco plants.

• (Lenoir) Kyle B. Hardy, a commercial and private pesticide applicator, agreed to pay $600 for the improper purchase of a soil fumigation pesticide from Harvey’s Fertilizer Company in Kinston. Hardy was not certified to buy or use soil fumigants at the time.

• (Lenoir) Marvin E. Sutton, the holder of a N.C. pesticide dealer license for Harvey’s Fertilizer Company in Kinston, agreed to pay $1,200 for the improper sale of a soil fumigant to Kyle Hardy who was not licensed/certified in the soil fumigation category at the time.

• (Lenoir) Andrew S. Jones, a private pesticide applicator, agreed to pay $600 for the improper purchase of a soil fumigation pesticide from Triangle Chemical Company in Kinston. Jones was not certified to buy or use soil fumigants at the time.

• (Lenoir) William C. Barham, the holder of a N.C. pesticide dealer license for Triangle Chemical Company in Kinston, agreed to pay $600 for the improper sale of soil fumigants to Andrew Jones who was not certified in the soil fumigation category.

• (Martin) Carey Y. Parrish, IV, the holder of a N.C. aerial pesticide applicator license, agreed to pay $1,200 because pesticide sprayed during an aerial treatment of a cotton field also landed on two people and the yard and driveway where they stood. N.C. law states it is a violation to spray a pesticide beyond the intended target.

• (Mecklenburg) Arturo Mendoza, owner and operator of Lantana’s Landscapes in Matthews, agreed to pay $800 for spraying commercial weed killers without a license.

• (Rowan) Douglas Harkey, a private pesticide applicator, agreed to pay $600 for using a herbicide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling. The herbicide sprayed on a soybean field caused damage to pine trees on an adjacent property.

• (Union) Wesley Von Egidy, owner and operator of D.R.V. Landscaping in Monroe, agreed to pay $800 for using commercial herbicides without a current commercial pesticide applicator license.