"The Department of Agriculture has long been criticized by residents affected by off-target sprays for failing to aggressively enforce state laws designed to protect them. That appears to be changing, something advocates say is overdue.
"They really had the spotlight turned on them in the state legislature this year," said Lisa Arkin, executive director of Beyond Toxics, a Eugene advocacy group. "I think it was a wakeup call for the agency's leader that the culture was completely off the mark."
In the last month, the department also suspended the license of another company, Applebee Aviation, whose questionable practices were exposed by timber whistleblower Darryl Ivy. The state took Applebee Aviation to court to stop it from continuing to spray while its license was revoked. A Washington County Circuit Court judge on Monday extended a temporary injunction prohibiting the company from spraying for another 30 days.
After initially proposing an $1,100 fine and short license revocation, the state last week said it would suspend Applebee's ability to spray for a year and fine it $40,000. The state found that Applebee had sprayed four times in the last month while its license was suspended."
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After weed killers drift, Oregon gets tough with helicopter sprayer | OregonLive.com
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