The Kauai County Council on Wednesday approved a request to hire special counsel to represent the county in a lawsuit by three seed companies that want to block the implementation of a new ordinance regulating pesticide use and genetically modified crops.

The Council approved the request by the Office of the County Attorney to spend up to $75,000 to retain special counsel to represent the county in the suit brought by Syngenta, DuPont Pioneer and Agrigenetics Inc., doing business as Dow AgroSciences.

The vote was 5-0 with two members absent — JoAnn Yukimura and Tim Bynum.

County officials will select special counsel from a pre-qualified list of 17 attorneys.

In January, the three seed companies filed a joint complaint in U.S. District Court against the county, seeking an injunction on Ordinance 960. The new law, due to take effect in mid-August, requires disclosure by biotech companies on their use of general and restricted-use pesticides. Operations also are required to establish buffer zones near schools, medical facilities, dwellings, parks, public roadways, shorelines and waterways.

In the lawsuit, the companies claim the new law is "fatally flawed" and pre-empted by state and federal laws that regulate pesticides and genetically modified organisms. They further contend that the ordinance will increase risks of commercial espionage, vandalism and misappropriation of trade secrets and inhibit farming activities.

BASF, a fourth seed company that operates on Kauai, is not part of the lawsuit. A company representative has said they are still reviewing the situation and exploring their options.

In January, the county sought free legal services to represent the county in the lawsuit, requesting a firm to donate all litigation costs. A review committee Tuesday rejected an offer by Kauai attorney Teresa Tico. According to a county news release, Tico was the sole attorney to submit a letter of interest to defend the county, with attorney Peter Schey, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

During a phone interview Tuesday, Tico said she wasn’t surprised by the county’s response because her offer was contingent on the county paying litigation costs.

"That was an issue," she said.

A county news release and letter sent to Tico on Tuesday by the county attorney’s office said the review committee determined she did not meet the requisite qualifications and experience to defend the county in the lawsuit.

Tico said she and Schey are extremely qualified. She noted she has tried thousands of cases in her 38 years as an attorney, including high-profile cases such as the Ka Loko Dam breach case.