N.C. Pesticide Board announces recent case settlements
RALEIGH – The N.C. Pesticide Board recently approved the following 35 settlement agreements for the following counties, plus Richmond, Va.: Bladen, Burke, Caldwell, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Harnett, Henderson, Iredell, Lenoir, Mecklenburg, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pitt, Robeson, Rutherford, Sampson, Surry, Union, Vance, Wake, Wayne and Yadkin.
Settlements are listed by county below, with a dozen cases involving drift damage listed as a group at the end of this release:
(Burke) James W. Cockrell, a licensed aerial pesticide applicator who owns Air Assault Agricultural Aviation in Jonesville agreed to pay $1,400 for depositing a pesticide within 100 feet of a residence in Connelly Springs.
Caldwell) William P. Wise, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator, agreed to pay $600 for use of a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling by applying the pesticide to an off-label nursery site north of Lenoir.
(Chatham) Paul Perala, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for Southeast Woodland Services in Indian Trail, agreed to pay $900 for applying a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling around a residential pond under a powerline right-of-way in Siler City.
(Craven) Philip H. Kilmer, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for Emerald Golf Course in New Bern, agreed to pay $400 for improper use of a pesticide on baseball fields near Vanceboro. The pesticide is designated for agricultural use only.
(Craven) John C. Reed, the owner and operator of Reed Landscape Irrigation, Inc. in New Bern, agreed to pay $800 because employees continued to apply pesticides after his commercial pesticide applicator license had expired.
(Harnett) Daniel P. Watkins, III, a private pesticide applicator, agreed to pay $800 for use of a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling which resulted in adverse health effects for migrant workers in a field east of Coats near Benson.
(Lenoir) Patrick Register, warehouse manager of Harvey’s Fertilizer and Gas in Kinston, agreed to pay $1,200 for selling restricted use pesticides without a required dealer license and offering a misbranded product for sale. Subsequently, a different person became a licensed pesticide dealer for the business.
(Mecklenburg) David L. Scher, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for King Green in Charlotte, agreed to pay $1,400 for violating use, storage, record-keeping and disposal regulations including the provision that states “no person shall handle, transport, store, display or distribute pesticides in such a manner as to endanger man and his environment or to endanger food, feed or any other products that may be transported, stored, displayed or distributed with pesticides…”
(Nash) Getsco, Inc., a bulk containment facility in Middlesex, agreed to pay $800 for not making repairs and/or upgrades to bring the containment area into compliance with state law. The company continued selling and receiving bulk pesticides at the facility while it was not in compliance.
(New Hanover) Matthew T. Smith, a licensed public pesticide operator, agreed to pay $800 for applying a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling by allowing golfers to enter the greens at Wilmington Municipal Golf Course before there was enough time for the products to dry.
(Onslow) Joseph Allen Floyd, the owner and operator of Tidewater Landscaping in Hubert, agreed to pay $800 for applying pesticides commercially without a required license. A state inspector discovered the violation in September of 2019. Further review showed Floyd failed to obtain a license after he was first issued a Notice of Non-Compliance in March of 2016. Floyd is still unlicensed.
(Onslow) Blake Thornton, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator and owner of Turf Tech in Swansboro, agreed to pay $800 for making a restricted use pesticide available to someone who is not a certified pesticide applicator.
o (Wayne) In relation to the above Onslow County case involving Blake Thornton, Michael C. Dreez agreed to pay $800 for applying a restricted use pesticide without a license and using the product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling by using it on an off-label site in Goldsboro.
(Pitt) Michael R. Nichols, a commercial pesticide applicator for Trugreen in Greenville, agreed to pay $800 because he failed to renew his pesticide applicator license and continued to apply pesticides. At the time of the investigation, no other employees at Trugreen held a valid commercial pesticide applicator license. Nichols has since renewed his license.
(Robeson) Wilton Randy Britt, a private pesticide applicator near Orrum, agreed to pay $500 for use of a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling by failing to document label requirements.
(Rutherford) Scott D. Hoyle, the owner of Oakland Feed and Seed in Spindale, agreed to pay $1,400 for selling restricted use pesticides without a required pesticide dealer license.
(Richmond, VA.) In relation to the above Rutherford County case, Southern States Cooperative in Richmond, Va., agreed to pay $1,600 for selling restricted use pesticides to a business in Spindale that did not have the proper certification to buy and sell the products.
(Sampson) Thomas S. Melvin, a licensed private pesticide applicator near Garland, agreed to pay $600 for applying a soil fumigant without the required additional certification. He has since acquired the certification.
(Sampson) Michael K. Rivenbark, a licensed aerial pesticide applicator for Moore’s Aerial Applicators in Clinton, agreed to pay $1,200 for making commercial pesticide applications without the proper category on his license.
(Surry) Walter Allen Worrell, a commercial pesticide applicator with an expired reciprocal license in Virginia agreed to pay $1,800 for applying pesticides in Mt. Airy without a valid pesticide applicator license and applying pesticides under such conditions that drift from pesticide(s) particles or vapors resulted in adverse effect on a tobacco crop.
(Wake) Richard A. Bialaszewski, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for Skeeter B Gone in Holly Springs, agreed to pay $400 because an employee under the supervision of Bialaszewski’s license operated in a faulty, careless, or negligent manner by making a pesticide application to the wrong residential address in Cary.
(Wake) Larry P. Blessing, a licensed pesticide applicator for Trugreen in Morrisville, agreed to pay $600 because an employee under the supervision of his license operated in a faulty, careless or negligent manner by making a pesticide application to the wrong residential address in Raleigh.
(Wake) Richard A. Cohen, a licensed pesticide applicator and owner of Mosquito Joe in Raleigh, agreed to pay $3,200 for improper disposal of rinsate into a storm drain. Cohen told the inspector that at his instruction, an employee dumped contents of a 100-gallon water container in a storm drain near the business. Sample taken from the drain showed evidence of pesticides, which indicated improper disposal of pesticides.
(Wayne) Richard W. Carter, a licensed commercial pesticide applicator for Spring Green Lawn Care in Goldsboro, agreed to pay $1,200 for the purchase and use of a restricted use pesticide that is only labeled for agricultural use.
o (Wayne) In relation to the above Wayne County case, Donnie J. Skelton, a licensed pesticide dealer at Patetown Dixie Fertilizer in Goldsboro, agreed to pay $700 for selling a restricted use pesticide product that is only labeled for agricultural use to a commercial lawncare applicator.
(Yadkin) Jerome Mauldin, a private pesticide applicator, agreed to pay $600 for purchasing and applying restricted use pesticides without a required license.
The following cases involved pesticide drift damage to non-target vegetation at nearby properties. They are each listed with the name of the violator and the amount he agreed to pay to settle each case. Each case violated provisions of state law, including the provision that states no person shall apply pesticides under such conditions that drift from pesticide particles or vapors results in adverse effects. Any other significant violations are also listed.
o (Bladen) William D. Brisson, a private pesticide applicator near Dublin, $500.
o (Columbus) Channing H. Foley, a private pesticide applicator near Fair Bluff, $1,000.
o (Henderson) Adam Pryor, a private pesticide applicator near Hendersonville, $600.
o (Iredell) Joseph L. Binkley, a private pesticide applicator near Harmony, $600.
o (Northampton) Joe H. Martin, a private pesticide applicator near Conway, $600.
o (Onslow) David Jeff Collins, a private pesticide applicator near Maysville, $600.
o (Pitt) Woody Allen Ham, a private pesticide applicator near Ayden, $800. Violations also included not following the Worker Protection Standard provision involving use of a respirator specified by the product label.
o (Union) Kyle Herring, a private pesticide applicator near Monroe, $600.
o (Vance) N. Wayne Cleaton, a private pesticide applicator in near Henderson, $1,200. Violations also included not following the Worker Protection Standard provision involving use of a respirator specified by the product label.
