Pesticides from helicopter landed near San Joaquin soccer players, state lawsuit says
A state lawsuit accuses a Lodi-based helicopter company of allowing pesticides to drift onto a soccer complex and other nonfarm locations.
The filing against Alpine Helicopter Service mainly involves two applications in San Joaquin County in 2019 and another in Sacramento County this year. But it cites six others dating to 2013, including one in Stanislaus County, that show a “pattern of misconduct” by the company.
The suit was filed Friday in San Joaquin Superior Court by Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. It seeks unspecified fines against Alpine.
“Time and time again, Alpine Helicopter Service and its pilots knowingly endangered the health and safety of innocent communities during the aerial application of hazardous pesticides,” Becerra said in a news release. “Who would choose to run their business with such callous disregard for the safety of our children and families nearby?”
The Modesto Bee left a phone message at Alpine but did not get a response as of Monday evening. The defendants are CEO Joel Dozhier and pilots William Heppe II and Charles Heppe.
Details on Stanislaus violation
State law requires permits from county agricultural commissioners before pesticides are applied to crops from the air or ground. Permit holders must watch out for wind, nearby homes and other risk factors.
Alpine paid a $700 fine for the errant use of an herbicide in northeast Modesto in May 2016. Agricultural Commissioner Milton O’Haire said Monday that the chemical, clomazone, was supposed to be sprayed onto a rice field in the area of Sylvan Avenue and Claus Road. It drifted onto grass and other landscaping at a home, turning it from green to white, he said.
Rice is a minor crop in Stanislaus but is widely planted in the Sacramento Valley.
Suit says soccer players were present in Stockton
Friday’s lawsuit cites two times in 2019 when pesticides drifted onto the San Joaquin County Regional Sports Complex, just west of Highway 99 in south Stockton. Youth soccer players were present during one alleged episode.
The first was on Sept. 7 and involved a chemical called Luna Sensation that was intended for a pumpkin field just to the west. The pilot saw people on a soccer field but sprayed nonetheless, the suit said. A patron “reported feeling congested later that day.”
Ten days later, an Alpine helicopter sprayed the same pumpkin field with a pesticide named Fulfill, but some of it drifted onto a vehicle parked at the complex, the state alleges.
“The sports complex serves disadvantaged communities in Stockton and the surrounding area,” the suit says. “These communities already experience disproportionate exposure to significant pollution, including from pesticides.”
Fourth of July spraying in Delta
The suit also cites the July 4, 2020, spraying of a corn field near Isleton, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It says a pesticide known as Zeal drifted onto a neighbor and her dog, goats, poultry, rabbits and vegetable garden.
“... the active ingredient in Zeal was detected in samples taken from a straw hat the individual was wearing when she felt the spray mist and from a plastic tote that was present on the individual’s property at the time of the application,” the filing says.
Chemicals designed to kill insects, weeds and other pests can also sicken people. Residents should call 911 if it is an emergency. More information is at the Poison Control Center, 800-222-1222.
Non-emergency drift reports can be made to county agricultural commissioners. The number is 209-525-4730 in Stanislaus, 209-953-6000 in San Joaquin, or 209-385-7431 in Merced.
