Alert: Support Increased Pesticide Violation Fines & Regenerative Agriculture
PC: Fern Holland
Sadly, most of our priority pesticide regulation bills in the House have not been scheduled for a hearing.
However, a bill (HB692) to increase pesticide use violation fines has been noticed for this Wednesday in the House Committee on Agriculture and Food Systems (AGR). Agrochemical companies operating in Hawaiʻi have repeatedly violated pesticide laws endangering workers and threatening nearby communities.
One of our priority regenerative agriculture bills (HB443) also was scheduled for a hearing in AGR. This bill will incentivize climate friendly farming and land management practices that enrich the productivity of our soils. Please support a healthy soils program for Hawaiʻi.
A bill (SB1585) to ban concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) in Hawaiʻi has also been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate. CAFO’s are disastrous for the environment generating excessive quantities of concentrated animal waste which spill over into adjacent communities.
HB692 - Increases Fines for Pesticide Use Violations
Increases fines for pesticide regulation violators; eliminates initial written warning penalty; requires annual report of pesticide inspections and compliance investigations by the Department of Agriculture (DOA).
HB692 will be heard by the House Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems on Wednesday, Feb. 15th at 9 AM. Testimonies are due Tuesday, Feb. 14th at 9 AM. The hearing will take place in Conference Room 325 and via Zoom. Please submit testimony in support!
Sample Testimony
Aloha,
Large corporate polluters have exposed farm workers and neighboring communities to pesticide misuse for decades. As a result, exposure has threatened the health of vulnerable populations and contaminated the environment.
The state’s current low fine threshold does not create a sense of urgency to change behavior and stop repeat violators. The maximum fine for corporate pesticide violations is currently set at $25,000. For multi-billion dollar corporate polluters, this amount is simply a “cost of doing business” rather than a deterrent.
Improper and illegal use of pesticides threatens to harm adjacent, non-target plants and species, to lead to short and long-term contamination of the state’s soil, air and water and takes a toll on human health and quality of life. Despite the risks, pesticide misuse has, and continues to occur within Hawaiʻi.
Just recently Monsanto/Bayer has pleaded guilty to multiple pesticide violations on Oʻahu. This is on the heels of additional violations on Maui and Moloka’i.
Related coverage: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/01/07/monsanto-pleads-guilty-pesticide-related-crimes-hawaii/
Please support HB692.
Mahalo,
Your Name, Residence/Town
HB443 - Healthy Soils Program
Requires the department of agriculture to establish a healthy soils program.
The program will:
Create a statewide soil health assessment with a list of practices specific to the State that are most effective in improving soil health and building soil carbon stocks
Provide farmers with education and technical assistance to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils
Establish standards that apply to the healthy soils program and are based on the findings of the greenhouse gas sequestration task force established relating to minimum levels of soil carbon and water content and required soil health practices
Subject to available funding, issue awards and other financial incentives to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils
HB443 will be heard by the House Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems on Wednesday, Feb. 15th at 9 AM. Testimonies are due Tuesday, Feb. 14th at 9 AM. The hearing will take place in Conference Room 325 and via Zoom. Please submit testimony in support!
Sample Testimony
Aloha,
Please support HB443 to establish a healthy soils program. Soil is a vital and living ecosystem that provides critical functions supporting ecological, economical, and social well-being in Hawaiʻi. Healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable food production, climate readiness, and diverse ecosystems.
In recent decades, we have learned a great deal about the importance of microbial life, soil biodiversity, and the capacity for soil to capture carbon. Regenerative farming practices capture carbon to enrich soil health. This mitigates agricultural climate impacts while increasing soil productivity for farming.
Much of Hawai’i’s soils are severely depleted from over a century of industrial agricultural practices. If we are to meet Hawaiʻi’s food security goals, assessing and restoring soil health is critical to increasing local food production.
HB443 is a win-win for our farmers and our local environment. Please support this important measure.
Mahalo,
Your Name, Residence/Town
Learn more: Hawaii Needs Good Soil To Grow More Food. Here’s How That Can Happen - Thomas Heaton for Civil Beat
SB1585 - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)
Prohibits new operations and renewal of existing licenses or permits to operate large concentrated animal feeding operations in the State, under certain conditions and by an unspecified date. Phases out all existing large concentrated animal feeding operations by 7/1/2028.
SB1585 will be heard by the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Environment on Wednesday, Feb. 15th at 1:30 PM in Conference Room 325 and via Zoom.
Testimony is due Tuesday, Feb 14th at 1:30 PM. Please submit testimony in support!
Sample Testimony
Aloha,
I am writing in strong support of SB1585, which places a moratorium on large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in Hawaiʻi.
Large CAFOs in Hawaiʻi have a continued pattern of polluting our water and being shut down for environmental violations. We saw this with Big Island Dairy on the dairy on Kauaʻi, both of which were shut down in the last 5 years alone.
This bill would protect Hawaiʻi’s precious environment and our communities, while also supporting locally-owned farms. There is only one farm in the State that qualifies as a large CAFO and it is owned by 2 large corporations on the continent. It is time to support locally-owned farms, local farmers, and protect our environment from the harm of large CAFOs.
Please support SB1585.
Mahalo,
Your Name, Residence/Town
Learn more: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/valerie-baron/factory-farms-what-we-dont-know-hurting-communities
