Case Summaries 2017/0872, 2017/0828, 2018/0588 and 2018/1019
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A Summary of Cases April 8, 2019 2017/0734 On May 4, 2017, the Certification & Licensing section contacted the Compliance Officer of the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC) to report Aspen Tree & Turf Care did not renew their business license. Disposition: A. Timothy W. Leensvaart and Aspen Tree & Turf Care were cited for 145 counts of violation of section 65(9) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law for professing to be in the business of applying pesticides for hire without having an Indiana pesticide business license. A civil penalty in the amount of $36,250.00 (145 counts x $250.00 per count) was assessed. B. It should be noted that as of January 12, 2018, all of the above listed websites were still active including the “Service Area” which included northwest Indiana. C. On September 11, 2018, Mr. Leensvaart called and stated the service area on the web page was modified to exclude Indiana. He stated he does not work in Indiana except for four or five jobs. I asked him to send me all of the pesticide application invoices he had for Indiana. D. Mr. Leensvaart also stated we had the incorrect address for him. He stated his address is 15110 S. 109th Avenue, Orland Park, Illinois 60467. E. On September 4, 2018, the OISC Licensing Department notified the Compliance Department they had denied Timothy W. Leensvaart’s (Aspen Tree and Turf Care) license application and returned his check #1134 for $90.00 due to his outstanding civil penalty. F. On September 18, 2018, OISC received invoices from Aspen Tree and Turf Care indicating pesticide applications occurred on November 15, 2016 and July 17, 2017. G. On October 9, 2018, Timothy W. Leensvaart and Aspen Tree & Turf Care were cited for two (2) counts of violation of section 65(9) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law for applying pesticides for hire without having an Indiana pesticide business license. The original civil penalty was reduced to $500.00 (2 counts x $250.00 per count). 2017/1161 On July 27, 2017, the complainant contacted the Compliance Officer of the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC) to report suspected dicamba agricultural pesticide drift to his beans. Disposition: Michael Hunt was warned for violation of section 65(2) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law for failure to follow label directions regarding the checking of the registrant’s website and a sensitive crop registry. Michael Hunt was cited for violation of section 65(2) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law for failure to follow label directions regarding application when the wind is blowing toward a susceptible crop. A civil penalty in the amount of $100.00 was assessed for this violation. Consideration was given to the fact in a dicamba outreach memo dated February 21, 2017, the Indiana Pesticide Review Board urged OISC to apply the most stringent penalties available for these types of violations. As of January 28, 2019, Michael Hunt had not paid the civil penalty. The case was forwarded to collections. 2017/1266 On September 14, 2017, I performed a marketplace inspection at Tractor Supply Inc. located at 2375 E. Pleasant Street in Noblesville, Indiana. I spoke with the manager Susan Harbaugh and informed her of the process of the marketplace inspection. Disposition: Mosquitno, LLC was cited for violation of section 57(1) of the Indiana Pesticide Registration Law for distributing a pesticide that was not registered for sale in Indiana. A civil penalty in the amount of $500.00 was assessed for this violation. Consideration was given to the fact this was their second violation of similar nature. See case number 2016/0815. As of January 9, 2019, Mosquitno, LLC had not paid the civil penalty. The case was forwarded to collections. 2018/0011 On October 12, 2017, the Complainant contacted the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC) to report problems receiving treatment paperwork from Ryon Pest Solutions for a termite control treatment completed on October 24, 2017. The Compliance Officer of the Office of the Indiana State Chemist (OISC) forwarded a voice message from Yvonne Schapson for follow-up. Disposition: A. Tim Ryon, Jacob Gerber and Ryon’s Pest Solutions were cited for violation of section 65(2) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law for failure to follow label directions regarding: a. the drilling of treatment holes in a slab no more than twelve (12) inches apart; b. failure to drill or treat under the outside wooden walkway planks; c. failure to drill and/or treat the wooden deck on the south side of the house; d. failure to drill holes in the hollow block on the east side of the house; e. failure to vertically drill and treat under the basement slab; and f. failure to properly treat the two (2) inaccessible crawl spaces. A civil penalty in the amount of $250.00 was assessed for this violation. B. Tim Ryon, Jacob Gerber and Ryon’s Pest Solutions were cited for violation of section 65(3) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law for using a known ineffective amount of pesticide by only applying 100 gallons of termiticide use dilution when label directions required over 300 gallons. A civil penalty in the amount of $250.00 was assessed for this violation. C. Tim Ryon, Jacob Gerber and Ryon’s Pest Solutions were cited for violation of section 65(6) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law, specifically 355 IAC 4-5-2(2) for failure to keep all required for-hire termiticide application records. A civil penalty in the amount of $50.00 was assessed for this violation. Consideration was given to the fact this was the second offense of similar nature within the past five (5) years. See case number 2014/0366. D. Tim Ryon, Jacob Gerber and Ryon’s Pest Solutions were cited for violation of section 65(6) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law, specifically 355 IAC 4-5-2(5), for failure to follow the rule regarding the issuance of a disclosure form for any label treatment discrepancies. A civil penalty in the amount of $250.00 was assessed for this violation. E. Tim Ryon, Jacob Gerber and Ryon’s Pest Solutions were cited for violation of section 65(7) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law for refusing to supply information when required or requested by the state chemist in the course of an investigation or inspection. A civil penalty in the amount of $250.00 was assessed for this violation. F. Tim Ryon, Jacob Gerber and Ryon’s Pest Solutions were cited for violation of section 65(8) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law for making false or fraudulent records, invoices or reports. A civil penalty in the amount of $250.00 was assessed for this violation. G. Tim Ryon, Jacob Gerber and Ryon’s Pest Solutions were cited for violation of section 65(14) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law for making false or misleading statements during or after an inspection concerning any infestation or infection of pests. A civil penalty in the amount of $250.00 was assessed for this violation. H. A total civil penalty for this investigation is $1,550.00. In addition, the 7b certifications and licenses issued to Tim Ryon, Jacob Gerber and Ryon’s Pest Solution were revoked. Consideration was given to the fact less than half (50%) of a directed by-the-label rate of termiticide use dilution was applied. I. On February 26, 2018, Tim Ryon called OISC. Mr. Ryon stated that he did not want to appeal the decision by OISC in this matter. He stated he did not put enough chemical in the house in question and did not leave a Disclosure form with the homeowner. At the conclusion of the conversation, it was determined that the civil penalty would be reduced to $700.00 and Mr. Ryon would be allowed to pay the penalty at $100.00 per month for seven (7) consecutive months. The license revocation for Mr. Ryon and Mr. Gerber would still be enforced. J. On February 4, 2019, OISC received the final civil penalty payment from Mr. Ryon. 2018/0076 On November 13, 2017, I visited AgriSelect on N. Green River Road in Evansville, Indiana after being notified by Inspector Schnur that there was a potential bulk pesticide containment violation. Inspector Schnur advised that there were several 275-gallon totes of liquid pesticides that were not in any kind of secondary containment. A. AgriSelect was cited for forty-eight (48) counts of violation of section 52 of the Indiana Pesticide Registration Law, specifically 355 IAC 5-4-1(a), for storing a bulk storage container outside of secondary containment. A civil penalty in the amount of $12,000.00 (48 counts x $250.00 per count) was assessed. However, the proposed civil penalty was reduced to $4,200.00. Consideration was given to the fact AgriSelect cooperated during the investigation; corrective action was taken; there was a good-faith effort to comply and no restricted use pesticides were involved. B. On January 3, 2018, I contacted Luke Snyder regarding the proposed reduction in civil penalty. He returned an email stating he would accept the proposed enforcement. Mr. Snyder was advised the Indiana Pesticide Review Board would have to approve the mitigation since by rule, OISC cannot mitigate for this type of violation. C. On March 16, 2018, the Indiana Pesticide Review Board authorized the agreed upon mitigation. 2018/0090 On November 17, 2017, the complainant contacted the Compliance Officer of the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC) to report that a couple months ago, he was trimming trees in a housing addition when TruGreen sprayed the lawn with a pesticide where he was working and the pesticide drift sent him to the hospital.