Director’s Decision on An Appeal of a County Agricultural Commissioner Decision (Trical, Inc., Docket Number 183)

The Director’s decision on TriCal Inc.’s appeal of the civil penalty levied by the Santa Barbara County Agricultural Commissioner (CAC) is enclosed. The Director affirmed the CAC’s action and the decision became final on September 15, 2011.

The Santa Barbara CAC found TriCal, Inc. in violation of Food and Agricultural Code (FAC), section 12973, and levied a $700 penalty for failure to post the inner buffer zone of a fumigation site with signs before and during application as required by permit conditions. TriCal, Inc. appealed the CAC’s action to the Director.

This decision addresses the following concepts/issues:

• The failure to comply with permit conditions is a violation of FAC, section 12973.
• The Advocate and Hearing Officer should ensure that all testimony recorded in the audio record can be understood. It is also important to explain or describe orally what a witness is pointing to or demonstrating.

Please make this information available to your staff as a reference in preparing cases. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. David Haskell, Research Program Specialist II, at 916-445-4207, or the Enforcement Branch Liaison assigned to your county.

Sincerely,