02/26/07 Pesticide Use Reporting

Pesticide Use Reporting System. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. The House Select Committee on Environmental Health heard testimony on a proposal, HB 1946, to establish a pesticide use reporting system. The proposal would require the reporting of pesticide use in the state, which would allow people to obtain information from a single contact regarding what pesticide was used, where it was used, and under what conditions it was used. But according to Jim Hazen with the Washington State Horticultural Association, producers are already keeping records. HAZEN: Anyone using restricted use crop protection materials - they are required to keep records on their use. And that is already being done. They have to keep very specific record on the material used, wind speed, how much was used, across what acreage and for what purpose. Those records can be requested by the Department of Agriculture at any time but according to Hazen this bill would make those records public and that has its own set of problems. HAZEN: Does this provide the opportunity for nuisance lawsuits? Does this provide an opportunity for certain people to collect the data and use that data against property owners? And I think it certainly raises that issue. Hazen also feels that the 4.3 million dollars in the bills fiscal note could be better spent on other area of the ag industry. More on that tomorrow. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.