Indianapolis, Indiana
December 12, 2002

Dow AgroSciences has agreed to pay an $8,800 settlement to resolve complaints by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the company allegedly violated two permit conditions for a research project at its agricultural research station on Molokai, Hawaii. The company has also initiated comprehensive steps to ensure that it routinely complies with all requirements of its field station permitting conditions.

Specifically, EPA alleged that the plot in question, which involved about 1/10th of an acre of corn, did not meet all the technical requirements of its permit because it did not have a windbreak of wiliwili trees and its 12-24 rows of bordering corn were not the kind specified in its permit.

The deviations described by the Agency occurred in part because the company planted the trial in a newly acquired field, which -- while it did not have wiliwili tree windbreaks -- exceeded six times the distance requirements for isolation from other corn specified in the permit. However, due to an oversight, the company did not confer with and seek approvals from EPA relating to the changes made, which in the company's view exceeded the effectiveness of the permit conditions.

"We are disappointed with our performance in this instance," said Pete Siggelko, Vice President, Plant Genetics and Biotechnology for Dow AgroSciences. "We're convinced that what we did provided for improved protection of the environment. But it wasn't consistent with what we said we were going to do. That's a significant administrative oversight, and we're taking steps to ensure that it does not happen again.

"These administrative permit deviations were brought to our attention by an EPA inspection," Siggelko added, "which certainly reflects the effectiveness of our regulatory system and how rigorously current standards are being enforced." 

EPA noted in its consent agreement with Dow AgroSciences that the company cooperated "at all times" with the Agency's investigation and resolution of this matter, and the reduced fine is a reflection of this. The Agency also noted that Dow AgroSciences implemented a variety of other measures at the site to isolate the test plants including shoot bagging, detasseling, providing 12- to 24-rows of bordering corn as a buffer (i.e., but not the type of corn designated for use as a buffer by the permit) and planting the test crop both downwind and more than 4,000 feet from other corn.

Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a global leader in providing pest management and biotechnology products that improve the quality and quantity of the earth's food supply and contribute to the safety, health and quality of life of the world's growing population. Dow AgroSciences has approximately 6,000 people in over 50 countries dedicated to its business, and has worldwide sales of more than US $3 billion. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.