Asplundh Tree Company Fined Over $4,000 for Over-Applying Herbicide at Operations

(Sweetwater, Idaho-April 28, 2009) Asplundh Tree Expert Company has agreed to pay $4,200 to settle 8 alleged violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act for operations in Sweetwater and Orofino, Idaho, located on the Nez Perce Reservation.

An inspector working on behalf of E.P.A. from the Tribal Pesticide Circuit Rider Plan found evidence that Asplundh may have improperly applied an herbicide, Dow AgroSciences Garlon 4, to control right-of-ways on at least 8 occasions in 2006. In some instances, the herbicide was applied at in excess of 11 times the maximum rate allowed by the label. The case was referred to E.P.A. for further investigation and enforcement.

"Pesticide applicators have a responsibility to use products according to their labels, which are reviewed and approved by EPA," said Scott Downey, EPA's Pesticide Plan Manager for the Pacific Northwest. "Pesticides may be toxic and should always be handled carefully and in a manner that will not pose harm to public health or the environment."

The Tribal Pesticide Circuit Rider Plan is funded by E.P.A. and provides compliance inspections and pesticide education on 6 reservations, including the Nez Perce Reservation. The E.P.A. has primary enforcement responsibility over federal pesticide laws on Indian Reservations.

For additional information about pesticides, visit: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/.

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