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Judge Strikes Down Local Law Restricting Pesticides in Hawaii

Posted by Unknown on Monday, August 25, 2014


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Energy & Environment |Judge Strikes Down Local Law Restricting Pesticides in Hawaii



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A federal judge in Hawaii has struck down a local ordinance that would have restricted or regulated the use of pesticides and genetically modified crops on the island of Kauai, saying the measure was pre-empted by state law.


The decision issued Monday represents a victory for Syngenta and three other seed and chemical companies that had brought the lawsuit, saying that the ordinance would place unnecessary and unfair restrictions on their operations.


The law, Ordinance 960, which was enacted last year, bitterly divided the normally idyllic island and also captured global attention. Hawaii’s year-round growing season had made the state a hub for the development of genetically engineered corn seeds that are then planted throughout the United States and in other countries. Corn stalks now sprout where pineapples and sugar cane once grew.


In pushing for the law, some residents had said the agricultural operations exposed them to the drift of soil and dangerous pesticides. They were joined by people opposed to biotech crops, which are also called genetically modified organisms, or G.M.O.s.


“This decision in no way diminishes the health and environmental concerns of the people of Kauai,” United States Magistrate Judge Barry M. Kurren wrote in one of his two related decisions. “The court’s ruling simply recognizes that the State of Hawaii has established a comprehensive framework for addressing the application of restricted-use pesticides and the planting of G.M.O. crops, which presently precludes local regulation by the county.”


The law was scheduled to go into effect Aug. 16, but had been postponed to Oct. 1 pending the court’s ruling. Now it will most likely not go into effect on that day either.


The law would require the seed companies to notify nearby residents about the use of certain pesticides and to establish no-spray buffer zones around schools, homes and other sites.


Besides Syngenta, the plaintiffs were BASF, Dow Chemical’s Agrigenetics, and DuPont’s Pioneer Hi-Bred seed division.


Kauai County was joined in defending the ordinance by the Center for Food Safety, the Pesticide Action Network North America, the Surfrider Foundation and a local group called Ka Makani Ho’opono, meaning “the wind that makes right.”


Gary Hooser, a Kauai County councilman who led the push for the law, said he was confident there would be an appeal. “It’s disappointing that these companies that profess to be good neighbors won’t accommodate the desires of the community.”



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