Crop-spraying irks southeast Fort Collins resident: Lack of notification about a nearby helicopter spraying operation raised memories of a 2011 spraying incident

The roar of a helicopter as it sprayed insecticide on a in southeast Fort Collins field on Wednesday brought back bad memories for some residents of the nearby Fossil Creek Ranch neighborhood.

Two years ago, a fixed-wing plane buzzed neighborhood homes and sprinkled insecticide well outside the beet field, sparking a Federal Aviation Administration investigation into the matter.

This time was different, said Stephanie Feller, who shot numerous photos of the helicopter as it went about its rounds west of Ziegler Road. The craft did not fly over homes and did not appear to misapply its load.

But it was still an unsettling surprise, she said. Neighbors were not told the spraying was coming.

“I fully believe they are bound by the FAA to notify us when they are going to do this,” she said. “But we’ve lived here since 2002 and we have never received a notification.”

Had she known spraying was coming, Feller said, she would have covered a backyard koi pond to protect it. The house’s windows were closed.

The FAA is looking into the incident to determine if notification regulations for spraying in a “congested” area were followed, said Wes Bartley, an aviation safety inspector based in Denver.

Defining whether an area is congested can be difficult and is determined on a case-by-case basis, he said.

The helicopter was registered to AG Air Inc. of Johnstown. A company representative said no rules were violated during the course of the operation and the company had no obligation to notify anyone of the spraying.

The field is leased by farmer Bob Becker, who said he told the owner of the farmland, but no one else, that the spraying was expected to happen Wednesday or Thursday.

Becker said the beet field was sprayed with Roundup for weeds and a fungicide.

In 2011, dozens of nearby residents called 911 to report the spraying and the way the fixed-wing plane was flying. Becker said he received no complaints about Wednesday’s spraying by helicopter.

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