g. Contract approval - Laserfiche WebLink

o 0, i,,_",:) L; '...? ~ INTRODUCTION Since 1992, more than 4,500 participants have used Project Safe Send to safely dispose of more than 1,6 million pounds of dangerous, unusable pesticides, such as DDT, chlordane, arsenic and mercury, lnjust the past biennium, 739 people, mostly fanners, pesticide dealers and applicators" brought in 338,616 pounds of unusable pesticides to Project Safe Send collection sites. . The need for Project Safe Send is ongoing. Participants and cooperating agencies, such as the North Dakota State University Extension Service and the North Dakota State Health Depm:t- ment, are unanimous in their support for the program. The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) receives telephone calls year-around from residents wanting to know the times and locations of the next collection, This support is understandable - the program is simple, effective and free. Participants bring their unusable pesticides to a scheduled, local collection site. They are asked to complete a voluntary survey and inventOl)' form. A contractor unloads the wastes for the participants and collects any paperwork The whole process usually takes just a few minutes. The contractor properly packs the waste pesticides for shipmentto out-of-state incinerators and prepares the necessary shipping manifests and bills oflading. NDDA carefully monitors the . collection events and documentation, withholding a substantial portion of the payment to the contractor until final certificates of disposal are received. Thanks to Project Safe Send, a difficult, dangerous and expensive undertaking for individual producers is now easy and affordable. It is a model of sound public policy for dealing with complex environmental issues. Project Safe Send is strongly supported by pesticide manufacturers and is funded through the fees they pay to register their products in the state. I encourage the 2005 Legislature to continue Project Safe Send and to restore full funding of the program.