From March 14, 2006
Minnesota
Department of Ag Audit Calls for Notification and Increased Monitoring
of Urban Areas
(Beyond Pesticides, March 14, 2006) The State of Minnesota’s
Office of the Legislative Auditor just released an evaluation of its
State Department of Agriculture’s pesticide-related activities
concluding that few people have access to the pesticide application
records required by law, and not enough has been done to monitor the
use and effects on nonagricultural pesticide use in urban areas. Furthermore,
the Department only partially fulfills its statutory obligation to collect
pesticide wastes and needs to improve their evaluation of enforcement
actions.
According to the audit, information on pesticide applications comes
from records maintained by pesticide applicators and, in limited circumstances
such as mosquito and gypsy moth treatments, by advance notice or the
posting of notification signs. In Minnesota, like many states, the records
on applications are not available to the public and only the Department
of Agriculture, customers and physicians and veternarians have legal
access. A key recommendation of the audit includes requiring advance
notification for applications toxic to bees, and an evaluation of the
feasibility of notification where applications could threaten human
health or pose serious economic harm.
Another key recommendation includes increased monitoring activities
for sensitive urban areas.
According to the Grand Forks Herald, two lawmakers said the audit didn't
go far enough. Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
(DFL)-Long Prairie, renewed her call for legislation that would allow
Minnesota residents access to information about pesticides applied near
their homes. Otremba said constituents in her farming area have been
exposed to unknown chemicals and then forced to wait while a doctor
contacted the Agriculture Department to find out what the substances
were. "We just want to know what you're spraying so we can deal
with it," she said.
And Rep. Jean Wagenius, DFL-Minneapolis, said auditors should have focused
on pesticides in residential drinking wells that are already contaminated
with nitrates, which come from fertilizers, feedlots and other sources."Can
we tell the moms and dads in Minnesota that it's safe for their kids
to drink well water?" she said.
The Herald goes on to explain “farm and lawn chemicals have been
controversial in Minnesota, where students discovered deformed frogs
11 years ago; studies later suggested that pesticide-contaminated water
caused the deformities.” The full audit report can be found at
Minnesota
Department of Agriculture Audit 2006.