Legislative amendments to the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451, P.A. of 1994, occurred during June of 1995. These amendments provided MDA with the responsibility to initiate response activities to immediately stop or prevent further releases at agrichemical spill sites. Previous to these amendments, any uncontained release or spill of agrichemical was required to be reported to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), most likely through the Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS) hotline. Now, whether a spill is reported through the MDA or MDEQ hotline, MDA will be responsible for initiating the response, which may include assistance and interaction with the MDEQ.

We see this program being very beneficial to both the ag-based industries, as well as those with a specific focus on environmental protection. The MDA hotline will provide another avenue for individuals with problem situations involving agrichemicals to receive help in a timely manner with a common sense approach. As some people do not feel comfortable with contacting the MDEQ, some incidents go unresolved. MDA involvement can reduce the uncertainty and apprehension tied to contacting the State regarding a spill by providing a complete package for spill response. This complete package includes state agency involvement and documentation; technical assistance and knowledge of products involved; practical, effective remediation options; and immediate response. Assistance will be offered to those in need and the spill will get cleaned up as quickly and completely as possible.

P.A. 451 and Regulation 637 (Pesticide Use) provide the legal authority to land apply recovered materials contaminated with pesticides. MDA will utilize land application as the primary method of re-use/disposal to take care of as many spill incidents as possible. Land application involves knowing the upper level of concentrations present, application at or below labeled rates, and application only to labeled sites. As seen in the recent past, this gets the material back out to where it can be used for its intended purpose, rather than land filling or incinerating at a great expense.

Along with installing the MDA hotline, MDA has been working closely with the Michigan State University Extension (MSU-E) and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide educational materials and informative seminars on how to deal with agrichemical spills. These include a spill management and response flow chart and contacts, informational fliers, and an updated and improved SARA Title Ill bulletin.

The basic themes that MDA will continue to present in the educational part of this program are to utilize your knowledge about the product, always consider personal safety, use the four C's (Control the source, Contain the spill to smallest area possible, Comply with reporting requirements, Cleanup), keep it out of the water, get help, ask for assistance, and take care of the problem IMMEDIATELY. By using your knowledge and training, involving the appropriate agencies, obtaining assistance when needed, and acting quickly and responsibly, we can greatly reduce the potential risks to groundwater and the environment without going broke in the process.

To recap, the MDA hotline does not replace the MDEQ PEAS hotline for reporting agrichemical spills. However, it does provide an additional method of contact with the State, and more directly to the MDA, for reporting an agrichemical spill and receiving technical assistance. MDA will be working in cooperation with MDEQ to address agrichemical spills but MDA is responsible for initiating the response. We are concentrating on the main goal of cleaning up all agrichemical spills quickly and completely and getting the recovered material back out to where it can be used for its intended purpose. To reach this goal, the MDA spill response program will provide immediate response, technical assistance, and a common sense approach to cleanup for those involved in the spill or release of a manure, fertilizer, or pesticide.

For more information on this program, contact the MDA Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division, Office of Pollution Prevention Groundwater Program, at 517/241-0236.