Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 16, 1994 TAG: 9404180140
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The board is considering raising the fee to register each pesticide to $175 to meet the cost of expected new federal regulations and add new research programs for its Office of Pesticide Management.
``Unless we have a strong Office of Pesticide Management, ... then driving down the road at night with our headlights off is exactly what we're doing,'' said Jason Gray of the nonprofit Virginia Water Project. ``Without research, one day we're going to find we have a problem that could have been prevented.''
``I support the $175 registration fee,'' Gray told the board at a public hearing Thursday in Richmond. ``I think it's the responsible thing to do.'' Manufacturers now pay $50 to register each pesticide with yearly sales below $5,000, and $125 for those with yearly sales above $5,000.
The board, which has a $2 million budget, collected about $840,000 in fees on about 8,000 pesticides last year. It also receives grants from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The $175 fee would bring in about $1.54 million annually, board officials say.
Art Hart of the National Agricultural Chemicals Association told the board the association opposes the fee increase, although he said the organization could support a $150 fee.
Hart said the Office of Pesticide Management, which has 29 employees, should be streamlined to save money, and the office should not conduct large research projects.
The office should operate on a basic program of reviewing labels and data, inspecting products in warehouses and stores, collecting and analyzing samples, routine inspections, investigating complaints, and keeping citizens generally informed about pesticides, Hart said.
The board was formed five years ago after an elderly Galax couple died after their home was improperly treated for termites.
by CNB