BOISE -- The Environmental Protection Agency has fined a California company nearly $100,000 for 21 alleged violations of federal pesticide laws. The agency says Wilber-Ellis Co., a national distributor of agricultural products, has agreed to pay $99,600 to resolve allegations that emerged from investigations in Idaho, Arizona, the Navajo Nation and the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe. The EPA says investigators in Arizona discovered that a Wilbur-Ellis facility was distributing and selling a misbranded pesticide. In a separate investigation, a Fort Mojave inspector found a pesticide product with a label lacking several key safety elements. And Navajo Nation and Idaho inspectors found several other violations, including cases when company-hired applicators failed to wear protective gear and other cases of misbranded pesticides, including one highly toxic product.
