Agency Warned About Spraying

An irrigation district employee has received a second reprimand from the state Department of Agriculture stemming from pesticide overspraying incidents last fall.

The second “notice of correction” sent Nov. 19 warns Jon Friederichs for not taking enough care to warn people near a spray area, department spokesman Cliff Weed said. It does not include penalties or fines, nor does it say anyone was actually sprayed by herbicides on Nov. 2 and 3, 1996.

The notice, in effect, is a warning from the state that the district must do a better job in managing pesticide use.

Friederichs did not return calls for comment Friday.

At least three hunters in two locations complained to federal and state agencies after a helicopter spraying weed-killing herbicides doused them.

Friederichs was cited after the Agriculture Department’s first review of the alleged incidents concluded he authorized improper concentrations of the chemical 2,4-D.

Three of the hunters have filed lawsuits against Precision Helicopters Inc. of Newberg, Ore., claiming the chemical spray injured their health. Two of them also filed suits against the irrigation district, which oversaw the spraying.