By: EPSD Staff, AZDA Headquarters
Following the Governor’s mandate to implement the LEAN principles for government, and in an effort to make AZDA more efficient, Director Killian announced his decision to merge the Environmental Services Division and the Plant Services Division. The new Environmental & Plant Services Division will be under the direction of Jack Peterson, current associate director for the Environmental Services Division.
The agriculture industry customers we serve will see no impact; the same people will be doing the same jobs.
One of our major long term goals is to do more cross training with some of our inspectors so that resources will be used more efficiently. As an example, there are times of the year when pest pressures are less on certain crops and therefore, less trapping is needed. We plan on cross training staff so they can perform marketplace inspections throughout the state. This will help eliminate some travel with the ability to do both some trapping work and marketplace inspections in the same general area. Marketplace inspections (MPI) are crucial to our Consumer Protection Program (CPP). During MPIs, inspectors ensure products such as pesticides, fertilizers, seeds and animal feed are registered as required by law, are safe and offer what they claim they offer on their label.
At this time, there are no changes in office locations, phone numbers or any contact information.
On the Plant Services Section (PSS) side we understand how critical it is to get Phytosanitary Certificates completed. These certificates require an inspection that checks for pests in products that are to be shipped across state and international boundaries; they are highly important for interstate and international agricultural commerce. We will continue to issue them in a timely manner.
On the Environmental Services Section (ESS) side, training courses, testing, CPP sample collection, community outreach and compliance activities will continue as usual. Any questions related ESS may still be directed to and answered by the staff you have engaged with previously.
Our licensing section will be under the direction of Jeff Grant, AZDA Deputy Director. You will still be receiving the same great customer service as before. Robert Tolton will continue in his role as the Licensing Manager. If you ever have concerns relating to licensing, you can contact him directly at rtolton@azda.gov or 602-255-3652. If you have concerns after you have gone to Robert or Robert is unavailable, Jeff Grant will be your contact.
Please don’t forget, even if you know someone’s direct number or direct email who works in the licensing section, we are asking you to use 602-542-3578 or licensing@azda.gov. This way if someone is out for an extended period or even a day or two someone else should be able to help you.
As a reminder, the Licensing Section processes most of the AZDA licenses. Just to list a few--pesticide related credentials, weights and measures related licenses and registrations, feed, fertilizer, pesticide and seed licensing and registration, meat, dairy, and aquaculture licenses, brands, equine hauling and rescue facilities, and finally native plant permits and tags. The Licensing Section also performs all the testing for the Phoenix office.
One last thing--Please call and make arrangements before coming into any our AZDA offices to ensure there is time and space for whatever you require. AZDA is continuing to follow mask and social distancing procedures.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jack Peterson at 602-542-3575 or via email at: jpeterson@azda.gov.