As state legislators get back into session, now is the time to be on the lookout for potential bills aimed at restricting aerial applications. Case in point, last week NAAA learned of a proposed house bill in Virginia that would require all agricultural aviators making an aerial application west of the Blue Ridge Mountains to provide seven-day notification for all such applications. The notifications had to include the specific date and time the aerial application was intended to be made.
NAAA responded by putting together a fact sheet that laid out the importance of aerial applications in Virginia and highlighted some of the severe consequences of forcing all aerial applications to be postponed seven days in order to comply with the proposed law. It also detailed the EPA’s registration process, which ensures a pesticide can be applied aerially in a safe manner, and the technology used in modern ag aviation operations to ensure accurate and safe applications. Click here to view the fact sheet.
NAAA sent the fact sheet to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Virginia Farm Bureau, CropLife America and a Virginia-based aerial application operation. NAAA will continue to monitor the situation and provide additional information as required. NAAA stands ready to assist state ag aviation associations with the information they may need to stave off burdensome and unnecessary regulations affecting ag aviation.
