Tamihi Logging appealed a decision of the Deputy Administrator to add a condition to two of Tamihis Pesticide Use Permits. The condition required the hiring of an independent consultant to monitor compliance with permit terms. The condition was added in response to a September, 1996 accident in which Tamihis service contractor sprayed a hunter with the herbicide glyphosate during an aerial application.
The Panel found that the condition to hire an independent monitor was not warranted since Tamihi was already required to have a project supervisor on-site, and the condition may not have prevented similar spraying accidents in the future. There was no evidence that the Appellant was in breach of its existing permit, and the Panel held that less burdensome measures could properly address the problem. The Panel replaced the appealed condition with requirements for: road barriers to prevent entry to treatment areas during application, the posting of signage prior to spraying, and the development of a protocol to eliminate the potential for exposure of bystanders. The Panel allowed the appeal.
