Want To Know About Pesticides Sprayed Near Your Home?
• Pesticide Notification Registry Deadline June 15
May 28, 2010 – AUGUSTA—Mainers who want to be notified about agricultural pesticide spraying near their homes this season have two more weeks to sign up.
Open enrollment closes June 15 for the 2010 Maine Pesticide Notification Registry. Any resident of Maine property within a quarter mile (500 feet for fruit trees or Christmas trees) of land where agricultural pesticides are applied by airplanes, helicopters, mist blowers, or air-blast sprayers can be notified in advance.
The registry, thought to be the only one of this type in the US, is a simple and free way for Mainers to be notified about agricultural pesticide spraying near their homes. The Maine State Legislature passed a law in 2009 that created the registry and gave the Maine Board of Pesticides Control the responsibility for its development, distribution, and maintenance.
To sign up on the registry, or for more information, go to www.thinkfirstspraylast.org. To request a paper signup form, call the Maine Board of Pesticides Control at 207-287-2731. After June 15, names will be held for the 2011 registry.
