HONOLULU — House Bill 790, a bill that would require farms to implement buffer-zones around schools, watersheds, shorelines and hospitals when spraying pesticide is unnecessary, according to Kauai Rep. Dee Morikawa.
“I introduced a pesticide disclosure back in 2013 and that was passed into law. There’s already disclosure,” This bill, without too much discussion, is very concerning for the farmers as a whole. Any farmer is going to be affected by this if it passes in this form. And I’m very concerned about that.”
The bill also requires commercial entities purchasing or using an unspecified amount of restricted use pesticides to “post warning signs, issue written notifications of application and make annual public disclosure,” according to the bill.
If this bill were to pass, counties will be authorized to adopt stricter regulations and allow citizen to file civil suits against those who violate the newly-adopted regulations.
But Morikawa feels that the bill lacks clarity and is being too rushed.
“If you read the bill carefully, there’s a lot of misinformation in there. I’m not supporting it,’ she told The Garden Island. “There’s too many conditions in there that haven’t been thought out. How is it going to be done? How much is this going to cost the taxpayer? I want to get all the stakeholders together to see where everyone is at today with the pesticide issues.”
On March 1, the committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce (CPC) recommended that the measure be approved with amendments with eight votes for the bill, zero opposed and one excused. On March 3, a 48-hour notice was posted for Tuesday, March 7.
House Bill 790 would require farmers to continuously report each time pesticides are sprayed, which Morikawa feels is tedious for farmers who are trying to work and harvest. She also feels that the farmers aren’t getting their voices heard.
“You have to report, constantly. It’s going to take the farmers away from what they really want to do. Theyhaven’t really had a good chance to come in and share their concerns because their not sure what it’s going to do to them. It says you have to notify your neighbors every time you spray and all that but they’re going to be so busy working.”
TGI reached out to the Environmental Protection Agency for comment but they could not comment on the matter because the bill is still in discussion.
Syngenta also did not immediately respond to TGI by press time.
Kauai already has a “Good Neighbor Program” instilled that Morikawa says is a success and should be adopted on other islands, but any more regulations without further deliberation and input is a mistake.
“I don’t want to put hardship on our farmers,” she said. “We’re not sure how many of them are going to be affected. Who knows how many farmers will even want to be involved in farming with all of this disclosure thathasn’t even been proven to affect our health.”
The state will vote on the bill today in Honolulu.