Hawaii 2022 Regular Session

Hawaii Senate Bill SCR67 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 67 THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION requesting the department of agriculture to submit a report on pesticide inspections conducted within the past five years and strengthen statewide enforcement of restricted use pesticide violations.
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3	3	THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 67
4	4	THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
5	5	STATE OF HAWAII
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7	7	THE SENATE
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9	9	S.C.R. NO.
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11	11	67
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13	13	THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
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17	17	STATE OF HAWAII
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29	29	SENATE CONCURRENT
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31	31	RESOLUTION
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37	37	requesting the department of agriculture to submit a report on pesticide inspections conducted within the past five years and strengthen statewide enforcement of restricted use pesticide violations.
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45	45	WHEREAS, the failure to adhere to pesticide use instructions poses significant risks to public health and the environment, including potential health injuries to farm workers and nearby residents, injury to non-target sensitive plants and species, drift harms to nearby farms and gardens, and short- and long-term contamination of the State's soil, air, and water; and WHEREAS, despite these risks, pesticides have been misused and continue to be misused within the State; and WHEREAS, according to a 2016 news release by Region 9 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, in January 2016, nineteen workers entered a west Kauai agribusiness field recently sprayed with a restricted use organophosphate insecticide, ten of whom were taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment; and WHEREAS, the agricultural operation reportedly failed in its duties to adequately implement the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act's Worker Protection Standard by failing to notify its workers to avoid fields recently treated with pesticides, then allowing or directing workers to enter the treated field before the required waiting period had passed and without proper personal protective equipment, which resulted in the workers' exposure to a restricted use pesticide with the active ingredient chlorpyrifos; and WHEREAS, although the United States Environmental Protection Agency initially sought civil penalties of over $4,800,000, in February 2018, a settlement was reached for the improper use of chlorpyrifos in 2016 and 2017 for a $150,000 payment and $400,000 in costs to train farmers, particularly small-scale growers, in pesticide use; and WHEREAS, in March 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency fined a commercial pesticide applicator $168,535 for misusing restricted use fumigant pesticides on Kauai, saying that the applicator had failed to ensure that only certified workers or workers directly supervised by a certified worker applied a restricted use pesticide, failed to provide proper worker protection equipment, failed to properly monitor the pesticide's application or measure the amount of pesticide used, and failed to maintain at least two years of routine operational records; and WHEREAS, in November 2019, an agribusiness operation agreed to plead guilty to illegally spraying a banned pesticide known as Penncap-M, containing the active ingredient methyl parathion, on Maui in 2014 and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement involving unlawfully storing an acute hazardous waste at facilities on Maui and Molokai, agreeing to pay $10,200,000; and WHEREAS, two years later, in December 2021, the same agribusiness operation agreed to plead guilty to thirty environmental misdemeanor crimes related to the use of a pesticide in 2020 on fields on Oahu and allowing workers to enter the fields during a restricted-entry period after the product was applied and pay another $12,000,000 in fines and community service payments; and WHEREAS, a May 2016 study entitled "Pesticide Use by Large Agribusinesses on Kauai", prepared by an independent Joint Fact Finding Study Group, points out the need for additional pesticide inspections and reporting on the results of inspections, and faster follow-through of inspections and legal compliance reviews; and WHEREAS, according to the same study, the use of drift-prone pesticides needs to be more strictly monitored through inspections and proven violators should be fined; and WHEREAS, Act 45, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, established additional state requirements for users of restricted use pesticides, prohibited restricted use pesticides within school buffer zones, and prohibited the use of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient, among other measures; and WHEREAS, under existing state law, commercial and private pesticide applicators who violate pesticide regulations may receive a written warning upon their first offense, regardless of whether the offense resulted in injury or illness; and WHEREAS, enforcement of Hawaii's pesticide laws, as well as timely and routine inspections and compliance investigations of potential pesticide misuse, are crucial to protecting public health and ensuring public confidence in the State's oversight of pesticide use; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to submit a report on pesticide inspections conducted within the past five years and strengthen statewide enforcement of restricted use pesticide violations; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to submit its report, including any findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, and Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Pesticide Inspections; Restricted Use Pesticides; Reporting; Department of Agriculture
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47	47	WHEREAS, the failure to adhere to pesticide use instructions poses significant risks to public health and the environment, including potential health injuries to farm workers and nearby residents, injury to non-target sensitive plants and species, drift harms to nearby farms and gardens, and short- and long-term contamination of the State's soil, air, and water; and
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51	51	WHEREAS, despite these risks, pesticides have been misused and continue to be misused within the State; and
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55	55	WHEREAS, according to a 2016 news release by Region 9 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, in January 2016, nineteen workers entered a west Kauai agribusiness field recently sprayed with a restricted use organophosphate insecticide, ten of whom were taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment; and
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59	59	WHEREAS, the agricultural operation reportedly failed in its duties to adequately implement the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act's Worker Protection Standard by failing to notify its workers to avoid fields recently treated with pesticides, then allowing or directing workers to enter the treated field before the required waiting period had passed and without proper personal protective equipment, which resulted in the workers' exposure to a restricted use pesticide with the active ingredient chlorpyrifos; and
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63	63	WHEREAS, although the United States Environmental Protection Agency initially sought civil penalties of over $4,800,000, in February 2018, a settlement was reached for the improper use of chlorpyrifos in 2016 and 2017 for a $150,000 payment and $400,000 in costs to train farmers, particularly small-scale growers, in pesticide use; and
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67	67	WHEREAS, in March 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency fined a commercial pesticide applicator $168,535 for misusing restricted use fumigant pesticides on Kauai, saying that the applicator had failed to ensure that only certified workers or workers directly supervised by a certified worker applied a restricted use pesticide, failed to provide proper worker protection equipment, failed to properly monitor the pesticide's application or measure the amount of pesticide used, and failed to maintain at least two years of routine operational records; and
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71	71	WHEREAS, in November 2019, an agribusiness operation agreed to plead guilty to illegally spraying a banned pesticide known as Penncap-M, containing the active ingredient methyl parathion, on Maui in 2014 and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement involving unlawfully storing an acute hazardous waste at facilities on Maui and Molokai, agreeing to pay $10,200,000; and
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75	75	WHEREAS, two years later, in December 2021, the same agribusiness operation agreed to plead guilty to thirty environmental misdemeanor crimes related to the use of a pesticide in 2020 on fields on Oahu and allowing workers to enter the fields during a restricted-entry period after the product was applied and pay another $12,000,000 in fines and community service payments; and
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79	79	WHEREAS, a May 2016 study entitled "Pesticide Use by Large Agribusinesses on Kauai", prepared by an independent Joint Fact Finding Study Group, points out the need for additional pesticide inspections and reporting on the results of inspections, and faster follow-through of inspections and legal compliance reviews; and
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83	83	WHEREAS, according to the same study, the use of drift-prone pesticides needs to be more strictly monitored through inspections and proven violators should be fined; and
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87	87	WHEREAS, Act 45, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, established additional state requirements for users of restricted use pesticides, prohibited restricted use pesticides within school buffer zones, and prohibited the use of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient, among other measures; and
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91	91	WHEREAS, under existing state law, commercial and private pesticide applicators who violate pesticide regulations may receive a written warning upon their first offense, regardless of whether the offense resulted in injury or illness; and
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95	95	WHEREAS, enforcement of Hawaii's pesticide laws, as well as timely and routine inspections and compliance investigations of potential pesticide misuse, are crucial to protecting public health and ensuring public confidence in the State's oversight of pesticide use; now, therefore,
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99	99	BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to submit a report on pesticide inspections conducted within the past five years and strengthen statewide enforcement of restricted use pesticide violations; and
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103	103	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to submit its report, including any findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and
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107	107	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, and Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
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115	115	OFFERED BY: _____________________________
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119	119	OFFERED BY:
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121	121	_____________________________
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123	123	Report Title:
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125	125	Pesticide Inspections; Restricted Use Pesticides; Reporting; Department of Agriculture