BLM Investigates After Company Sprays Pesticide On Public Land Without License . News | OPB

 "Since 2010, state and federal agencies awarded Applebee Aviation more than $1 million in contracts to apply fertilizer and pesticides on public land in Oregon and Washington.4 During that same span, Applebee Aviation tallied more complaints, violations and vehicle crashes than any other aerial pesticide operator in Oregon, according to state and federal records.

Complaints are not rare for companies in the business of spraying chemicals on Oregon forestland, which is both highly visible and controversial. Many licensed operators have at least one complaint against them, according to Oregon Department of Agriculture data.

Applebee Aviation has 15, more than any other aerial pesticide operator in the state.

Applebee also has been cited for violations in four different cases in Oregon and one in Washington since 2010. In those cases, Applebee Aviation staff failed to review pesticide labels before applying them, allowed chemicals to drift onto a bicyclist and sprayed a weed killer toxic to fish over a creek where salmon and steelhead spawn. Two other cases are pending.


Also during the past six years, Applebee Aviation has been involved in three crashes, according to FAA data. One was fatal.7

Meanwhile, Applebee Aviation has won nearly $1 million in bids for aerial herbicide spraying from the Washington Department of Natural Resources over the past six years.8 In 2015, the company won two contracts from the Oregon Department of Forestry, totaling near $50,000.9

Kevin Vanderlei, a former Applebee Aviation truck driver and pesticide handler, claims he was exposed to pesticides during jobs on DNR land. He recalls refilling a helicopter with broken nozzles, which caused pesticides to drip on him.

“I’m not talking about an occasional drip,” he said. “I’m talking about being doused in chemical every time I had to fill the helicopter.”"

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BLM Investigates After Company Sprays Pesticide On Public Land Without License . News | OPB

Pumping Out Of Creeks

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Pumping Out of Creeks on Vimeo

Oregon seeks to revoke license of pesticide spraying company :: WRAL.com

By GOSIA WOZNIACKA, Associated Press

PORTLAND, ORE. — The Oregon Department of Agriculture is seeking to revoke the license of a company that conducts aerial pesticide spraying on private timberlands, after the company disregarded a previous license suspension.

According to an order issued this week, Applebee Aviation's pesticide operator license would be revoked for one year. The company would also be fined $40,000.

Company owner Mike Applebee can still appeal the order. He didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The state last month suspended the company's license over worker protection violations and fined it $1,100. The violations came to light after a member of the spraying crew said he had to regularly take shelter from herbicides sprayed from a helicopter in Douglas County this spring. Truck driver Darryl Ivy quit his job and went to a hospital complaining of blisters in his mouth and a swollen airway.

He shot hundreds of photos and video of the spraying, which were first released to The Oregonian.

In addition to the license suspension from the Department of Agriculture, Applebee was also fined $8,850 by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division, and another $14,100 by the Oregon Department of Transportation."

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Oregon seeks to revoke license of pesticide spraying company :: WRAL.com:

Pesticide Spray Victims Tell Their Stories | Jefferson Public Radio

Darryl Ivy and Kevin Vanderlei share stories of spraying.

Concerns about aerial spraying of pesticides on Oregon forest land reached a new level recently, when a court ordered Applebee Aviation to stop spraying pesticides without a license.

Listen To Interview:

Pesticide Spray Victims Tell Their Stories | Jefferson Public Radio

State to timber whistleblower's former employer: Pay up, shut down | OregonLive.com

"Five months after timber worker Darryl Ivy blew the whistle on his employer's helicopter spray practices in Oregon's forests, the state Department of Agriculture has proposed revoking the company's license and fining it more than $40,000.

 Ivy, a truck driver, spent 17 days this spring on a spray crew in Douglas County, the heart of Oregon's timber country. Videos and photos he shot show that he routinely hid inside his pickup truck while herbicides rained down. The milky chemical mix stained Ivy's windshield white and turned his phlegm red."

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State to timber whistleblower's former employer: Pay up, shut down | OregonLive.com

Temporary restraining order issued against Applebee Aviation

October 12, 2015... The Oregon Department of Agriculture has received a temporary restraining order to immediately stop Applebee Aviation, Inc. of Banks, Oregon from engaging in commercial pesticide activities. The order, issued by Washington County Circuit Court, was sought by ODA after it discovered Applebee Aviation had illegally conducted pesticide applications while its commercial pesticide operator’s license was suspended, an additional violation of Oregon’s Pesticide Control Act. Meanwhile, ODA continues its investigation of the most recent violative activity and expects to take additional regulatory action against the company.

On September 25, 2015, ODA issued an immediate license suspension and a $1,100 civil penalty and to Applebee Aviation for performing aerial herbicide application activities in a faulty, careless, or negligent manner. Applebee Aviation was informed that it was prohibited by law from engaging in pesticide application activities until such time as its license was reinstated. Subsequently on October 8, 2015, ODA became aware that Applebee Aviation performed an aerial application of pesticides on Bureau of Land Management lands north of Christmas Valley in Lake County on or around October 1 and 2. ODA also learned that Applebee Aviation engaged in pesticide application activities in Astoria in Clatsop County on September 26. The temporary restraining was granted because Applebee Aviation knowingly and willfully ignored ODA’s express instructions and engaged in pesticide application activities even though its license was suspended.

ODA’s original regulatory action followed the completion of a pesticide use investigation stemming from a complaint of exposure received by an Applebee Aviation worker present during aerial pesticide application activity on and around forestlands in Douglas County in April 2015. ODA coordinated with Oregon OSHA, which conducted its own investigation. ODA found that Applebee Aviation had not provided workers with the required personal protection equipment, water or other decontamination materials for use in the event of exposure, or training on how to minimize hazards to safety and health while working around pesticides. All are violations of the pesticide label. Oregon OSHA, which is the lead agency on worker protection matters, issued fines totaling $8,850 for violations committed by Applebee Aviation.

For more information, contact Bruce Pokarney at (503) 986-4559.

Article Comment

coastrange: BLM knew or should have know that they had no license and should have suspended the contract. If BLM was really pressuring a company without a license to spray, they should also be found in violation of Oregon Forrest Practices Act.

Oregon court orders Applebee Aviation to stop aerial pesticide spraying | Local | Eugene, Oregon

"PORTLAND — The Oregon Department of Agriculture has received a temporary restraining order to stop a company from conducting aerial pesticide spraying on private timberlands.

 The order was issued by Washington County Circuit Court on Monday. It comes after the state last month suspended Applebee Aviation’s pesticide operator license over worker protection violations. Despite the suspension, Applebee Aviation performed aerial applications."

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Oregon court orders Applebee Aviation to stop aerial pesticide spraying | Local | Eugene, Oregon:

The Oregonian: Whistleblower videos reveal helicopter spraying workers with weed killers

By Rob Davis | The Oregonian/OregonLive May 20, 2015
Exposed atop the barren clearcut in Oregon's coastal mountains, he hid in the only place he could. A helicopter circled overhead, spraying a fine mist of toxic weed killers.

Darryl Ivy took refuge inside his pickup: Windows up, doors shut.

 The scene was captured on camera, one of more than 200 videos Ivy recorded on his smartphone. 

Again and again, herbicides rained down. The milky chemical mix stained Ivy's windshield white and turned his phlegm red.

 Ivy, a truck driver, spent 17 days this spring on a spray crew in Douglas County, the heart of Oregon's timber country. He got sprayed so often it became routine.

Don't worry about it, Ivy said the pilot told him. It won't hurt you. Read More