NC Pesticide Board Meeting Notes

November 14, 2017

12:30 – 4:30 PM

Governor James Martin Building

NC State Fairgrounds

In attendance: Dr. Allen Scarborough (Vice Chair and presiding); Dr. Colleen Hudak-Wise; Dr. Benson Kirkman; Mr. Shawn Harding; Mr. Don Rodgers; Mr. Jim Burnette (Secretary); Ms. Mary P. Kelley

Not in attendance: Dr. Rick Langley (Chair)

Ethics Reminder

Dr. Scarborough reminded the member to avoid conflicts of interest and/or appearance of conflicts of interest. No members acknowledged conflicts of interest.

Introduction of new Board Member – Mary P. Kelley

Dr. Scarborough introduced Mary P. Kelley who was introduced as the new member of the NC Pesticide Board to represent NC Department of Environmental Quality.

Consider Board minutes from the June 8, 2017 meeting

Mr. Harding moved that the minutes be approved as is and Mr. Rodgers seconded that motion. Unanimously approved.

HB 74, Agency Rules Review Update – Jim Burnette, SPC&PD

HB 74 requires a periodic review of all rules by the enforcement agency. The Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (DOA&CS) had proposed to the Pesticide Board the staff’s classification of the rules as “necessary with substantive public interest”; “necessary without substantive public interest”; or “unnecessary”, which the Board approved. This approval also allowed for the DOA to published the rules on an agency website for public comment. All comments will then come back to the Board, and then a final decision will be made.

Mr. Rodgers moved that the rules be published for public comment. Dr. Scarborough seconded. Unanimously approved.

Pollinator Outreach Update & PETF Request for DriftWatch and Pollinator Outreach – Patrick Jones, SPC&PD

Mr. Jones gave an update on outreach for the Division’s pollinator protection program that has been going on since June 2014. The goal of this outreach initiative is to increase communication between beekeepers, pesticide applicators, farmers, and landscapers. The Division’s strategy is to get beekeepers to register their hives on BeeCheck, which is a program of DriftWatch, so that applicators can check for hives in the area before they apply pesticides.

Mr. Jones asked the Board for an additional $6,500 for the annual fee to use DriftWatch, $1,500 for publications and “Get to Know Your Beekeeper/Farmer/Applicator/Landscaper” pamphlets, and $2,000 for outreach materials. The total proposal was for $10,000 from the Pesticide Environmental Trust Fund (PETF).

Dr. Kirkman made a motion to approve the proposal for $10,000 from the PETF. Dr. Hudak-Wise seconded the motion. Unanimously approved.

Auxin Technologies Update – Dr. Alan York, NCSU

Dr. Alan York of the Weed Science Department at NC State University gave a summary about the training that they offered this year on auxin technologies, lessons learned, and next steps. Auxin technologies allow use of dicamba and 2,4 D on cotton and soybeans, which are not new products. Auxin technologies (Xtend – dicamba resistant and Enlist – 2,4D resistant) allow the use for longer period of times and on more land.

Dr. York expressed that many broadleaf crops are extremely sensitive to some of these products, and that many growers did not know this, or didn’t respect it. Last summer, Dr. York felt like it was time to do some outreach and education as to not make the same mistakes as some growers did in the mid-South.

Overall, in the 2017 growing season, there were few complaints from drift of dicamba (15 complaints) that were reported to the DOA&CS. Eight incidents were involving drift onto tobacco, and no official complaints of vegetables or homeowners. Dr. York felt these could be explained by spray drift by growers that were not paying attention to wind speed, direction, etc.

Dr. York discussed how the EPA is examining the label for dicamba and are expected to reduce the maximum wind speed when the chemical can be applied, time of day that the chemical can be applied, and a few other things. Dr. York and DOA&CS will monitor the exact language and develop outreach as they understand the breadth of the proposed changes.

Monitoring Surface Water for Pesticides – John Allran, SPC&PD

Mr. Allran explained the potential changes that made be made through a collaboration with NC DOA&CS, DHHS, and DEQ. This new system would use the current Random Ambient Monitoring System (RAMS) Program to sample and evaluate newer pesticides through randomly sampling 30 streams across the state twice a year. Currently, RAMS evaluates 88 pesticides, but fewer than half of the pesticides are currently registered for use in NC. The Quality Assurance manager with NCDEQ, Nick Jones, wants to streamline this current list and make sure that it is testing for relevant pesticides.

To help to classify the ~900 active ingredients that are registered for use in NC, the DOA&CS developed a methodology that will break down these chemicals into low, moderate, and high risk to aquatic species. This was done through a formulation examining run-off potential through soil adsorption (mobility) and soil metabolism half-life (persistence). The DOA&CS also examined EPA toxicity data on various species of fish and aquatic invertebrates to rank the mortality from exposure as a measure of acute toxicity. Through this system, out of 373 pesticide active ingredients registered for use in NC, 88% rank as moderate or high risk to aquatic species.

Mr. Allran suggested that DEP will use the RAMS Program to collect samples, the DHHS will analyze the samples for 148 pesticides, and potentially more, and the results will be used to compare to EPA Aquatic Life Benchmarks, make management decisions, focus on outreach and education, support enforcement, and report to EPA for use in risk assessment, registration, and label amendments process.

The Pesticide Board members were supportive of the initiative, but no formal action was required. 

Settlement Agreements

N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Structural Pest Control and Pesticide Division, v.

Public Comment – Bev and Scott Veals 

Bev and Scott Veals of Carolina Beach spoke to the Board about a current situation with a neighbor that uses pesticides to chemically mow his yard. They have had ongoing problems with this neighbor for years and have complained on numerous occasions to the DOA&CS about potential violations.

Mrs. Veals is a three-time cancer survivor who has chemical sensitivity due to her radiation therapy. Mr. Veals has spoken with the neighbor on numerous occasions to try to find a compromise on when he can spray chemicals and Mrs. Veals wouldn’t be exposed; however, the neighbor is insistent that he will continue to spray even if that means that Mrs. Veals will be exposed.

Mrs. Veals feels that this is not a unique problem in neighborhoods across the state and wanted to reach out to the Board about potential for collaboration on education and outreach. The Board was receptive to this and felt it appropriate to continue the conversation.

By Patricia Patterson, Toxic Free NC Policy Advocacy Intern

In July of 2015, among growing concern for pollinator populations and the need for growers and beekeepers to communicate more effectively about pesticide application, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture requested $27,750 from the Pesticide Environmental Trust Fund to register the state for online mapping programs through FieldWatch. FieldWatch, Inc., formerly known as DriftWatch, is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting pollinator protection and human health and safety through the implementation of mapping registry programs. DriftWatch and BeeCheck are programs under FieldWatch, Inc. that map and track specialty crops and beehives. These online programs allow both organic and conventional farmers to register the location of their fields and/or beehives as well as access locations of surrounding fields and apiaries.

The FieldWatch map mimics Google Earth with registered locations displayed as color-coded pins. While it may be simple to filter between conventional and organic growing conditions and crop types on the map, users are deprived of distance accuracy in heavy-registered areas. Pesticide applicators may not access all surrounding apiary/field locations on FieldWatch due to the voluntary registration policy and location overload. Aside from the location pins on the map, FieldWatch does not provide a method for gauging the relative distance from an apiary or field to a user’s location, and it does not provide the exact location of a beehive (see Figure 1). Beekeepers may register several hives under one address, but FieldWatch does not monitor the exact location of each hive. Oversights such as these can lead to misinformation, pesticide drift, and can cause harmful pollinator and crop damage.

Figure 1. Registered Beehives in North Carolina (June 2017, retrieved from https://nc.driftwatch.org/map)

In North Carolina, approximately 34 fields are registered in FieldWatch as “organically grown” or certified organic; 16 of those are certified organic, and 18 are “organically grown.” About 250 fields are registered as “conventionally grown” (see Figure 2). Unlike organic farmers, conventional farmers apply synthetic chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides to their crops. The mishandling of pesticides by conventional farmers, including unregistered conventional farmers, can impact the health of pollinators in North Carolina and damage surrounding crops. The prevalence of conventional farming indicates a need for greater communication between beekeepers and farmers that choose to use pesticides, a need that may not be met due to the lack of total participation by all farmers and beekeepers in North Carolina.

 Figure 2. Registered “Conventionally Grown” Crops in North Carolina (June 2017, retrieved from https://nc.driftwatch.org/map)

Thousands of North Carolinian farmers and beekeepers may not be registered in FieldWatch because of technological and educational barriers. FieldWatch states that those who do not own a computer should contact their state’s data steward to create an account. For non-computer users, this contact information, provided online under FieldWatch’s “Contact Us” page, may not be accessible. Potential users may also be unaware of FieldWatch due to its current voluntary policy for crop site registration and insufficient marketing for farmers without access to a computer. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture promotes the use of FieldWatch when they are doing outreach with beekeepers. This effort has led to the registration of 6,180 beehives, approximately 1,452 apiary locations, on FieldWatch. However, only a few hundred pesticide applicators have registered among over 50,000 farmers across the state. This is a prime example of how beekeepers disproportionately bare the burden of keeping their bees away from pesticides. The state of North Carolina possess the opportunity to reduce local crop damage and promote pollinator protection, but operating under a voluntary crop site registration policy restricts the potential for positive change for our environment and food systems.