U.S. EPA settles with animal products distributor for $56,200 following pesticide violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined
Modesto Calif. company Veterinary Service, Inc. $56,200 for selling its Calif.
registered pesticide outside the state, a violation of federal pesticide law.

The pesticide, Tomcat Ground Squirrel and Gopher Bait, was registered
specifically for use in California, and didn’t go through the full registration
process required for federally registered pesticides. As a result, the EPA did
not have the opportunity to review the product for its potentially adverse
affects on the environment, prior to its distribution and use.

"The label clearly indicated that this product was only meant for
distribution and use in the state of California" said Katherine Taylor,
associate director of the Communities and Ecosystems Division in EPA’s
Pacific Southwest region. "Pesticide distributors and retailers must ensure
that they do not sell pesticides outside of a state that has been granted a
special registration"

The illegal product was initially found during a routine inspection by the
Nevada Department of Agriculture at Fernley Hay and Grain, a garden supply
and feed store in Fernley, Nevada. The store selling the product was fined
$3,120. The discovery led to a further investigation by the California
Department of Pesticide Regulation, which uncovered sales of the product by
VSI to additional stores in Nevada and Arizona.

VSI has voluntarily recalled the product that was distributed outside of
California, and is complying with federal pesticide laws.

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act requires federal
registration of pesticide products, and proper labeling, to protect public
health and the environment. FIFRA allows states to issue "Special Local
Needs" registrations to address pest problems specific to that state. Each
producer, seller, and distributor is required, pursuant to federal law, to ensure
that these state-specific pesticides are distributed only in that state.