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MEDLIN Johnny R <br /> From: MCVEY Fred <br /> To: LYLE Les A <br /> Cc: LONG Jack E; MEDLIN Johnny R; JENSEN Kathy T <br /> Subject: FW: PESTICIDE INCIDENT AT 1408 LAWRENCE <br /> Date: Wednesday, May 31, 1995 4:40PM <br /> Les, 1 hear you had some contact with Judy Giers about this situation. I'm forwarding the summary below <br /> to explain our handling of the situation, and to make sure you are in agreement with our approach. <br /> Basically what we found was not enough direct evidence of a measurable discharge, either with the <br /> Crossbow spraying or with the potential application of Casaron, to treat the situation as an enforcement <br /> issue. We were of course concerned about the indirect evidence of spraying blackberries hanging over the <br /> channel and expressed that in our letter to the property owner. <br /> My sense of where we are at with the stormwater program is that in cases such as this we have more of <br /> an public education need and effort than an aggressive enforcement approach. We used some of the fact <br /> - sheets that Mary has developed along with the letter attached below to try to inform the property owner of <br /> water quality impacts of pesticide use. Beyond that I don't see any existing code or policy that would <br /> justify further action. If a property owner chooses to use herbicides to control the vegetation for which <br /> they are legally responsible, and do so in a manner following state regulations, following the instructions <br /> for the product, and avoiding any discharge of the material into the stormwater system, I don't see much <br /> we could do beyond the educational aspect. Of course there are gray areas, and this situation may fall <br /> slightly into such a region, but there really does not appear to be an enforceable violation. It seems Ms. <br /> Giers does not agree with our approach, and based on her comments to Kevin Foerstler may feel that you <br /> had another interpretation. Let me know if you have any concerns with our approach. <br /> Thanks, Fred <br /> From: FOERSTLER Kevin J <br /> To: MCVEY Fred <br /> Subject: PESTICIDE INCIDENT AT 1408 LAWRENCE <br /> Date: Wednesday, May 31, 1995 3:07PM <br /> Fred, here is a summary of this incident and my questions. <br /> The Vegetation Program received a complaint on 4 -26 -95 from Judy Giers / David Olson (1407 <br /> Washington) regarding a neighbor to the east of their property who sprayed the blackberries in the alley <br /> right -of -way with crossbow. She was unhappy about the distruction of blackbird habitat and the fact that <br /> the spraying occurred adjacent to the Amazon channel. She felt that the poison would leach into the <br /> channel through the roots and also believed that the foliage over the water had been sprayed, with <br /> chemical directly entering the waterway. <br /> The complainants wanted the City to stop the neighbor from clearing the blackberries from the alley and to <br /> prevent him from spraying any "poisons" near the channel. I explained to the complainants that the <br /> vegetation in the alley adjacent to a property between the property line and the center of the alley is the <br /> property owners responsilbility to maintain (in the case of the berries, to maintain them clear of the alley). <br /> An inspection revealed that the neighbor had also sprayed the berries on her side of the alley as well. It <br /> also appeared that the berries overhanging the waterway had been sprayed, which may have been a <br /> violation of the stormwater pollution discharge ordinance. In conferring with Kathy Jensen & Fred McVey, <br /> it was decided that the appropriate action to take was to send an informational letter to the property owner <br /> who did the spraying to alert him to the pollution discharge ordinance and the need to keep pesticide <br /> applications from entering the channel. (this letter is attached to this summary) <br /> In a follow up conversation with the complainant, I discussed the vegetation control ordinances regarding <br /> the alley and the fact that 1 could not direct the property owner to stop spraying or removal of the <br /> blackberries on the portion of the alley under his maintenance control. I also informed the complainant that <br /> the City does not control or regulate the use of pesticides, that State & Federal agencies regulate <br /> pesticides and their use. The City's involvement would be limited to the issue of a possible violation of the <br /> stormwater pollution ordinance which may have resulted from the application of a pesticide to foliage <br /> which hung out over the waterway. <br /> Page 1 <br />