Budget Woes Stall Pesticide Tracking Plan

SALEM, Ore. – A plan to forego penalties against pesticide users who don’t make required state reports is drawing objections from some environmentalists in Oregon.

The proposed rule change comes from officials at the state Agriculture Department, who said they don't have the money to properly process the reports.

A hearing Tuesday was the latest round in a long battle over implementing the 1999 law, which requires farmers, commercial applicators and cities to report to the state where, when and how many chemicals they have used against insects or weeds.

The agency says it has little choice because the 2003 Legislature failed to give it the funds needed to complete the computerized reporting project.

The rule would bar action against farmers or other pesticide users for failing to make reports until the project is funded and “fully effective.”

Pesticide users have opposed some aspects of implementing the law. They fear the state will require information about their property locations that’s too specific, possibly making them targets of ecoterrorists.