Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 17, 1993                   TAG: 9307170209
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

STATE PESTICIDE PLAN'S GOAL IS GROUND WATER PROTECTION

But what about the well in the back yard? Did some of that pesticide leak into the ground and contaminate the water supply?

It's hard to know for sure. But the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is working on a plan to help protect Virginia's ground water while allowing growers to use the pesticides they need to avoid severe crop damage.

The plan will affect growers, gardeners, homeowners, pest-control and landscaping businesses - and anyone who relies on private or public wells for drinking water.

The department will hold a public meeting Tuesday to discuss the plan and take comments from citizens. The meeting will be at 1:30 p.m. at Virginia Tech's Donaldson Brown Center.

The plan is the first phase of a program initiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency two years ago. As a generic blueprint, it will help state officials determine the extent of the problem and will set up the process to protect ground water from pesticides.

The EPA, perhaps as soon as this fall, will begin listing pesticides that have an unreasonable risk to human health and the environment. States must then develop a management plan for each specific pesticide if they want to register that compound for use by growers and others.

The specific pesticide plans will be tailored to the economic and environmental needs of regions within a state, accounting for such factors as hydrological conditions, the number of homes and communities that rely on ground water, and the kind of crops being grown.

In Virginia, for instance, the New River Valley would be particularly vulnerable to contamination because of the karst terrain, said Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent Mike Weaver. Karst is characterized by underground streams, caves and porous limestone formations, allowing water to move quickly without filtering through soil.

Weaver predicted the EPA will go through its pesticide list alphabetically, probably listing atrazine (used on corn), aldicarb and alachlor (used on field crops such as soybeans) first.

The pesticides will be evaluated on a combination of characteristics, he said - their persistence in the environment, toxicity and how well they dissolve in water and adhere to soil.

States probably will have just one year to put together the individual pesticide plans for EPA approval, so the generic plan will help move the process along.

Drafting the plan was a 22-member task force, including representatives from a dozen state agencies, farmers, a pesticide retailer, homeowners, environmentalists and local government representatives.

A report from the state agriculture department said the money for the program may come from the state legislature, manufacturers' fees and EPA grants.

About 540,000 Virginia households rely on ground water from private domestic wells, according to the report. Ground water is the only source of public drinking water in about one-third of Virginia's 95 counties.

A 1988 study by the Virginia Water Project Inc., showed that roughly 23 percent of households in Roanoke County use individual wells, 71 percent in Bedford County, 54 percent in Botetourt County, 23 percent in Montgomery County and 58 percent in Franklin County.

Weaver said there is no breakdown on the amount of pesticides used in each county.

However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has statewide statistics on pesticides used on peaches and apples from a 1991 study. According to the study, 970,000 pounds of insecticides and fungicides were used on apple crops throughout the state, and about 120,000 pounds were used on peaches.

There are no data on the extent of pesticide contamination in Southwest Virginia ground water, or if there is any contamination at all, said Charles Magolda, the department's local inspector.

For the past year and a half, the state has tried to find farmers to volunteer to have their wells tested for possible pesticide contamination. So far, none has volunteered.

"I think it has something to do with the fact that they don't trust government," he said. The growers may be concerned that if pesticides are found, they'll be held liable for cleanup, he said.