| Tracking The Neighbor Notification Law |
For more information about the New York state pesticide notification law please click the following links:
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LONG ISLAND, N.Y. - Nearly a month after the Neighbor Notification Law was overturned in Nassau County, the fighting continues.
Shortly after Judge Stephen A. Bucaria in Nassau County overturned the law on April 18, 2001, the county attorneys asked for a stay, explained Larry Wilson, government affairs chairperson for the New York State Turf & Landscape Association and chairperson of the industry coalition that led the fight against the law. The judge granted a limited stay, making the law effective once again, until the May 15 deadline for arguments.
“The judge committed himself to hearing the arguments on May 15,” Wilson remarked. “[On May 15] he threw out the stay, which means now that the law is null and void again. This is very confusing for an applicator.”
Although the law is not in effect at this point, Wilson warned that the situation could change at any moment. “The judge said that although the time limit for the stay had expired, he should have a final ruling in 10 days to two weeks,” he noted. Wilson said he expects the county attorneys to go to federal court to have the stay reinstated, saying that the attorneys looked “annoyed” when the judge handing down his ruling.
John Zaher, spokesman for the Nassau County Executive’s Office responded to the judge’s decision stating, “the county attorney’s office is reviewing the decision to determine if it is appropriate to appeal.”
Daniel Van Starrenburg, president and CEO of Nature’s Trees Inc., the plaintiff in the case, could not be reached fro comment.
MORE WORK AHEAD. Even if the suit is settled in Nassau county in the next few weeks, there are still suits pending in two other counties, with a third about to be filed.
The judge in Westchester County ruled against the coalition’s initial challenge, meaning the law will stay in effect there. Wilson related that the Coalition is appealing that decision, but that process could take some time. In Albany County, no papers have been filed as of yet, but the Coalition plans to file the appropriate papers within a week. And in Suffolk County, no ruling has been handed down as of yet. Wilson said he expects the judge in that county to wait to see what the final outcome will be in Nassau County before making a ruling.
The author is the Internet Project Manager for Lawn & Landscape Online.
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N.Y. Governor's Efforts To Make Industry Pay For Notification Fails |
The governor of New York tried to pass an increase in pesticide applicator fees along with his state budget proposal earlier this year. Some of these fees were proposed at a 1,500 percent increase. For instance, the cost of pesticide certification was $15 for three years in 2000 and, in 2001, the proposed cost for certification was $75 per year ($225 for three years). These proposed increases were to be used "to supoport state oversight pesticide applicator examination and training, and training and support for communities to implement local pesticide neighbor notification activities, non-toxic West Nile prevention measures and integrated pest management practices," according to the New York State Turfgrass Association (NYSTA) According to Larry Wilson, government affairs chairperson for the New York State Turf & Landscape Association, landscape contracting was just one of the businesses affected by these proposals. Wilson said the moment the proposed increases were introduced, many New York businesses went to Albany to confront the governor. "We were very surprised by the proposed increases," Wilson said. "Essentially, we were going to pay to fund the enforcement of neighbor notification." Representatives from NYSTA agreed: "We are a strong supporter of education and training for pesticide applicators, but we believe that fees from our industry should not be used for implementing local neighbor notification or West Nile prevention activities." Due to the number of businesses that objected the proposed increases, "the whole package was immediately killed," Wilson said. --Nicole Wisniewski, managing editor, Lawn & Landscape magazine |
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