A proposed Kauai County ordinance pertaining to pesticide use and farming of genetically modified crops is dusting up tensions on the Garden Isle, polarizing some groups and residents.

While opponents contend that regulations tied to the bill would significantly hamstring agribusiness and farming industries, supporters are countering that such a law is needed to safeguard public health and the island’s environment.

A big turnout is expected at a public hearing on the matter set for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Kauai Veterans Center in Lihue. Last month, community members packed the historic Kauai County Building for the first reading of Bill 2491, with about 170 people signing up to address the Kauai County Council. The high attendance prompted the venue switch to the center, which can seat up to about 600 people.

Authored by Councilman Gary Hooser, the bill targets large users of restricted-use pesticides — pinpointed as commercial agricultural operations purchasing or using more than 5 pounds or 15 gallons of restricted-use pesticides annually — as well as users of any amount of experimental pesticides.

The bill’s scope almost entirely limits the potentially affected group to five companies, Hooser said, noting that the island’s smaller farms are not large users of either type of pesticide.

The regulations are needed, Hooser said, because the intensity of restricted-use pesticide-spraying on Kauai exceeds that of any other county in the state.

"Pesticides are used all over by lots of people, but on Kauai, five companies are using 18 tons a year and in a relatively concentrated geographical area," Hooser said, referring to seed companies Syngenta, Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., BASF Corp. and Dow AgroSciences as well as Kauai Coffee, the largest coffee grower in Hawaii.

Citing state Department of Agriculture records, Hooser said those companies are using a total of 22 different restricted-use pesticides annually on Kauai, including many chemicals banned in Europe and elsewhere.

"This is not something you’re buying in Walmart," he said.

At the center of Bill 2491, Hooser said, is the community’s right to know what pesticides are being used in large quantities and what experimental pesticides and genetically modified crops are present on Kauai.

"People are just very concerned and very passionate about protecting their health and protecting their children," he said.

If it becomes law, the ordinance would require mandatory disclosures about pesticide use and the presence of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.

Among other regulations: The ordinance would ban open-air testing of experimental pesticides and GMOs, and create a 500-foot pesticide-free buffer zone around schools, hospitals and other sensitive areas such as public roads, streams and shorelines.

Mark Phillipson, a spokesman for Syngenta, which leases about 3,500 acres of state and private land on Kauai to grow corn and soybeans for seed production, said the company is already thoroughly regulated by federal agencies. He expressed concern that the proposed ordinance could crush its Kauai operations.

The buffer zone — a distance of almost two football fields around designated areas — "essentially puts us out of business," Phillipson said. "The buffer zone reduces our available land by over 90 percent."

‘SHOTGUN APPROACH’

Seed corn is now at the forefront of Hawaii’s agricultural industry, replacing onetime giants sugar and pineapple.

For the 2011-2012 season, the value of Hawaii’s seed crop was estimated at $243 million. A total of 5,625 acres statewide is used to grow seed. Thanks to Hawaii’s ideal growing location, companies can produce three to four crops annually compared with one crop a year in fields in the Midwest.

On Kauai, more than 12,000 acres of land is now owned by seed companies.

If the county bill passes as written, Phillipson said, seed companies as well as interstate and foreign commerce will suffer.

"It will affect those who buy our seeds, who depend on our seed products to increase their yield crop and increase their markets," he said.

Officials at Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., BASF and Dow AgroSciences did not respond to phone calls from the Star-Advertiser about the bill.

Like Syngenta’s Phillipson, Wayne Katayama, president and general manager of Kauai Coffee, which spans 3,000 acres on the island’s south side, said buffer zones would slash a substantial portion of land available for growing coffee trees. However, provisions in the bill relating to GMOs would not affect Kauai Coffee because it’s not involved with genetically engineered crops, he said. Syngenta’s crops include both hybrid and genetically engineered seeds.

Katayama said the bill ought to be accompanied by a cost-benefit analysis examining the effects on companies and how disclosure requirements would benefit the community and increase public safety.

He also questioned whether the county has the resources to enforce new regulations. The state Department of Agriculture’s Pesticides Branch has one inspector designated for Kauai County.

"I just hope that this bill would go through the proper vetting process where we can craft legislation that is meaningful, that is balanced and that we can move forward together as a community," Katayama said.

Also wary of the bill is Jerry Ornellas, president of the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau. He described it as a complicated proposal that takes a "a shotgun approach" to the issue.

Ornellas said the bill’s regulations could eventually touch more than the big five.

"It would have an adverse effect on all farmers," he said. "I don’t see how they could possibly discriminate based on the size of the operation."

Even if the law’s intent to regulate only its target group is successful, Ornellas said, possible labor issues could arise and companies may cut back on production.

ALLEGED IMPACT

There is no law in place on Kauai that requires agriculture-centric companies to disclose the amounts of toxic chemicals they use daily. Hooser has said he wants to change that to ease concerns about human health and vitality of the island’s landscape.

He said that county government councils and boards on the U.S. West Coast have passed ordinances establishing pesticide-use regulations that cover aerial and ground applications. Also, several states on the mainland, ranging from Alabama and Arizona to Connecticut and Louisiana, have buffer zone requirements.

Among Kauai residents who say they have already witnessed health troubles is Shelby Erdmann of Waimea. She contended that pesticide drift from fields owned by Pioneer Hi-Bred caused her son’s frequent nosebleeds and asthma attacks.

"He’s had it rough for the last couple of years," Erdmann said.

Erdmann is one of more than 100 residents who filed a mass tort lawsuit against Pioneer Hi-Bred, an Iowa-based company that has leased land in Waimea since the fall of 1998.

The lawsuit claims that Pioneer uses fields to conduct open-air testing of genetically modified crops. Residents argue that the company has failed to control soil erosion as well as pesticide dust that routinely blows into their homes.

Pioneer spokeswoman Laurie Yoshida declined to comment on the lawsuit due to the ongoing litigation.

Erdmann said, "All we see is dust coming off the ridge. You can see dust clouds following the machines."

Her son had nosebleeds as often as five times a week, she said, until the family installed an air-conditioning system and shut all windows.

"We don’t open the windows or doors anymore," Erdmann said.

When asked about what end result she wants to the litigation, Erdmann said, referring to Pioneer Hi-Bred, "I just want them gone."

In a separate case, students at Waimea Canyon Middle School complained of throat irritation, tearing and dizziness. In response, state Department of Agriculture officials organized an air sampling study.

The University of Hawaii’s Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering conducted air monitoring for chemicals in the ambient air in and near the school between September 2010 and June 2012, but found no evidence indicating misuse of pesticides.

FEDERAL OVERSIGHT

Syngenta’s Phillipson said the seed company and others targeted for Bill 2491’s proposed regulations are monitored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Food and Drug Administration.

The USDA decides whether companies get permits for field tests, the EPA oversees pesticide use, and the FDA is in charge of the safety of genetically modified crops.

"Whatever the law is, we follow the law," Phillipson said.

"We only use EPA-approved products," he added, noting that Syngenta does not conduct experimental pesticide product testing.

However, Phillipson said, "On occasion, requests are made to use an approved product on a crop that it’s not approved for." For example, if a pesticide is approved for corn and not for soybeans, a request for an experimental use permit is submitted to the state agriculture department.

"Those are used very rarely," he said.

In regard to the safety of GMOs, Phillipson said, "In the 20 years and 3 trillion meals that have been served, there has not been one documented incident or occurrence of illness from genetically engineered foods. Plus, these products, before they are brought to the market, are researched for health and safety."

Given the extent of federal oversight, Phillipson said he’s puzzled as to why Syngenta and other seed companies, along with Kauai Coffee, are singled out for more regulations.

"This isn’t asked of any pesticide user. Other farmers aren’t being asked this," he said.

Hooser has said the bill’s intent is not to serve as an across-the-board measure, nor is it a means to force GMOs from Kauai.

To put the issue in islandwide context, Hooser said, all the golf courses on Kauai together use about 200 pounds of restricted-use pesticides each year. Syngenta and the other four companies that would be affected by the bill use a total of 18 tons.

Bill supporters such as Paul Achitoff, managing attorney of Earthjustice’s mid-Pacific office in Honolulu, said the Kauai bill does not duplicate federal and state laws as stated by some bill opponents.

"If the federal government had a law that specifically restricted (pesticides) in a way that this ordinance does, why would anybody be bothering to do an ordinance?" he asked.

Achitoff added that Kauai is not like Illinois, where there are miles of open land without houses.

"That’s not the case in Kauai or anywhere in Hawaii," he said. "What might work in Illinois doesn’t work in Hawaii. We’re a lot smaller.

"People are much closer to these things than states on the mainland where you have vast expanses of agricultural land."