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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories First hemp permit holder now just needs some seed Beloved advocate dies unexpectedly in Caribbean Man catches burglar in the act Mt. Ashland Ski Area celebrates snow Couple face child abuse charges Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Man catches burglar in the act Couple face child abuse charges Fire guts Evans Valley pump house Oxygen tank explodes during Phoenix house fire Emergency services, Feb. 11 Politics and Elections Oregon's second in command abruptly returns from capital Mark L. 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First hemp permit holder now just needs some seed ... Beloved advocate dies unexpectedly in Caribbean ... Kitzhaber had planned to quit ... First hemp permit holder now just needs some seed ... Beloved advocate dies unexpectedly in Caribbean ... LEGISLATURE Lawmakers propose tightening aerial spray laws Oregon rules governing pesticides weakest on West Coast Comment By Rob Davis The Oregonian MailTribune.com By Rob Davis The Oregonian Posted Feb. 11, 2015 @ 2:00 am By Rob Davis The Oregonian Posted Feb. 11, 2015 @ 2:00 am » Social News Two Oregon lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bill to tighten regulation of the timber industry's aerial spraying of weed killers on clearcuts. The proposal, which faces industry opposition, would make Oregon's spraying laws —the West Coast's weakest — hew closer to those in Washington and California, increasing transparency and public notice of planned sprays and prescribed burns. "We've heard widespread concern that Oregon isn't doing enough to protect the health of rural citizens from aerial herbicide sprays," said state Sen. Michael Dembrow, a Portland Democrat who co-authored the bill. "There have been incidents in Curry, Douglas, Tillamook, Lane and Klamath counties. It's time to change these outdated policies." A 2014 investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive found Oregon today does less to protect people and the environment from drifting chemicals sprayed to control weeds that sprout after clearcuts than neighboring states — Idaho, Washington and California. Oregon's rules even do more for fish than people. Streams with fish get a 60-foot buffer from weed killers sprayed by helicopter. Residential properties get none, despite the risk of chemicals drifting. The bill, SB 613, co-authored by Rep. Ann Lininger, a Lake Oswego Democrat, would sharply increase the public's ability to learn what is sprayed on Oregon's clearcuts. Neighbors would get more warning that timber companies were about to spray or burn leftover slash from a cut. Currently, timber companies don't need to tell adjacent property owners exactly when they plan to spray. The bill would require them to notify neighbors between a week and three months before a planned spray and keep them apprised of changing plans. "The message from rural residents is that they do not get adequate notice of aerial sprays. They hear a helicopter, and that's all the advance notice they get," Lininger said. "They don't have time to prepare and protect themselves or their animals." Oregon's lax regulation began drawing scrutiny from state lawmakers after a helicopter pilot repeatedly flew over homes while spraying outside Gold Beach in October 2013. Curry County residents standing outside said they felt chemicals land on their faces. Twenty complained. The pilot's spraying license was later suspended for a year and he was fined $10,000. An industry representative said the bill addresses problems that don't exist. Nothing in the proposal would've changed anything about the October 2013 incident, said Scott Dahlman, executive director of Oregonians for Food and Shelter, an industry group. "The supposition behind people needing to close their windows or leave their house is that a misapplication is taking place," Dahlman said. "If a legal, proper application is taking place, there won't be product getting on to neighboring property." But even legal, routine operations have allowed herbicides to drift onto neighboring properties, a December investigation by Oregon Public Broadcasting found. The bill would also give the Oregon Health Authority the ability to quickly collect tissue samples in suspected cases where sprays have poisoned people. In the October 2013 incident, no state agency responded to complaints for a week and only sampled vegetation. Curry County residents who were sprayed in October 2013 say the bill would've made a difference for them. Kathyrn Rickard, who put her rescue dog, Mr. Leo, to sleep after he fell ill following the incident, said the lawmakers' proposal would've helped ensure her veterinarian received prompt information about what exactly the Rhodesian ridgeback labrador was sprayed with. Instead, she was told six chemicals that may have been used — and didn't learn exactly what sprayed was until April, a month before Mr. Leo was put down. "We had to watch as he wasted away before our eyes," she said in a Tuesday conference call with reporters. "It may not have made a difference for Mr. Leo but at least we would've known what to treat." While the proposal calls for stricter no-spray buffers, it doesn't say what they should be. Instead, it directs the Department of Forestry's board to establish them around homes, schools, drinking water sources and fish-bearing streams. It's unclear whether that will result in any change. The agency already has that authority. Its last change to spray buffers was to eliminate them around homes in 1996. The Board of Forestry oversees an agency with conflicting responsibilities. The state Department of Forestry is required to protect the public and environment from unintended exposures to weed killers. But it's also responsible for promoting the industry. Passing the decision to the agency's board shouldn't be viewed as a sign that lawmakers don't want to see buffers tightened, Dembrow said. "We expect them to do it promptly and do it using the best available science to protect human and environmental health," he said. "They are going to step up and handle this in the right way." Allowing the board to establish those rules made more sense, Dembrow said, because it would give more flexibility to revisit them without needing the Legislature's direction. Gov. John Kitzhaber has not taken a position on the bill. "We're continuing to work with the chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on this issue to find constructive ways to improve how Oregon is regulating the commercial use of pesticides on forest lands," said Kitzhaber spokeswoman Melissa Navas. By Rob Davis The Oregonian MailTribune.com By Rob Davis The Oregonian Posted Feb. 11, 2015 @ 2:00 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. 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