A grower has been fined $4,950 in a pesticide drift incident last year that sickened 65 farmworkers picking apples in a neighboring orchard in Walla Walla County, Wash.

The state Department of Agriculture finalized the sanction against Doug Strebin of Basin Farming on June 9. The incident occurred Oct. 13. Workers reported symptoms such as irritated eyes and nausea. Twenty-two were treated at a hospital.

The department originally planned to fine Strebin $6,600. The penalty was reduced after the department met with Strebin in May. The fine remains the largest levied this year for a pesticide violation.

Strebin blamed the pesticide drift on a power outage that took place 15 minutes after the workers arrived to pick apples, according to the department.

The outage caused a center pivot in Strebin’s field to stop moving at about 6:45 a.m. on a Sunday morning. The pivot was at the point closest to the orchard. Pesticide-laden irrigation water drained and pooled on the surface.

The workers were outside a 765-foot buffer zone, but the puddling of the pesticide significantly contributed to gases drifting in their direction, according to department records.

Within an hour of the power outage, the workers were sick, some vomiting.

The department also noted that Strebin had checked several times with the orchard manager over the previous week about whether workers would be in the orchard.

The orchard manager said repeatedly, including the day before the incident, that the apples were not ready to pick, according to the investigation.

The department, however, faulted Strebin for not informing the orchard in writing about the application, in which a pesticide was injected into the irrigation system.

The 107-acre field was being treated with Vapam HL over 50 hours to prepare it for potatoes. The application began Friday afternoon, about 39 hours before the drift incident.

Strebin also did not post warning signs, another requirement, according to the department. The vans and buses that brought the workers to the orchard on Sunday morning parked in the buffer zone, according to the investigation.

Strebin is a licensed applicator, but his soil-fumigant certification was expired, according to the department. Besides paying a fine, Strebin agreed to take online training.

The department credited Strebin with promptly coming to where workers were being evacuated and providing information about Vapam HL to pass along to the hospital.

Efforts to reach Strebin to comment were not successful.

The pesticide drifted to a 67-worker crew of seasonal foreign workers.

All but two reported some combination of irritated eyes, nausea, headaches and other aliments. All but two returned to work the next day, though some reported lingering ill effects that lasted several days, according to the investigation.

The agriculture department identified three separate violations. The department can levy fines of up to $7,500 per violation. Strebin had no previous violations.

Farmers are held responsible for where their pesticides drift. The department considers aggravating and mitigating circumstances in setting fines.

The department has levied five fines this year for pesticide violations, including some related to residential use.