Grainnet

Kansas City, KS - As part of a legal settlement for alleged violations of federal laws that apply to the proper sale of pesticides, a farmers cooperative in Arcadia, IA has agreed to help the Crawford County Conservation District in its efforts to control the invasion of an aquatic weed in two local lakes.

The Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company, also known as Farmers Coop, of 12543 190th Street, Arcadia, will pay a settlement penalty of $4,290 to the United States, under terms of a consent agreement and final order filed today by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 in Kansas City, KS.

Additionally, Farmers Coop has agreed to provide eight gallons of the pesticide SONAR to the conservation district for use in controlling the growth of brittle naiad in Yellow Smoke and Nelson Park lakes.

If left uncontrolled, brittle naiad could fill the lakes with thick mats of weeds that would affect the lakes' aquatic life and recreational use adversely.

Farmers Coop must verify that the SONAR pesticide is applied to the lakes by a certified applicator, the legal agreement says.

The pesticide donation project has a value of $13,506, according to the agreement with EPA.

Staff from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship inspected the Farmers Coop facility on Jan. 11, 2008, and found several violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

The violations included the sale of a pesticide to a non-certified applicator and sale of a misbranded pesticide whose contents had been manipulated.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

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