County Council turns back effort to repeal pesticide law

The Kauai County Council killed a bill that proposed to repeal a controversial pesticides and genetically modified crops’ regulation law.

Bill 2562 sought to rescind Ordinance 960 (formerly Bill 2491) following a federal judge’s recent ruling that invalidated the law.

The Council voted 5-1 Wednesday to kill the measure, co-introduced by Councilmen Mel Rapozo and Ross Kagawa. Kagawa was the sole Council member who voted against nullifying Bill 2562.

Rapozo was present at the Council meeting but left before the vote.

During the meeting, Rapozo said, "If the federal court invalidates a law, then you repeal the law."

Rapozo has been a staunch opponent of Bill 2491 since the measure was co-introduced by Councilmen Gary Hooser and Tim Bynum last year. Rapozo has asserted it was legally flawed.

Money recently authorized for special counsel to represent the county in an appeal that challenges U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren’s decision would be better spent on hiring additional inspectors for the county, he said.

An appeal filed by the county and four nonprofit organizations at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is pending.

Ordinance 960 would require commercial agricultural operations that use more than 5 pounds or 15 gallons of restricted-use pesticides annually to disclose the types of pesticides they use and establish buffer zones near schools, dwellings, medical facilities, public roadways, shorelines and waterways.

The law targeted seed companies Syngenta, DuPont Pioneer, BASF and Agrigenetics Inc., doing business as Dow AgroSciences, which operate on the Garden Island. In August, Kurren ruled in favor of the companies who argued in a January lawsuit that the ordinance was pre-empted by state law.

A majority of isle residents who testified Wednesday in support of killing Bill 2562 were the same residents who testified before the Council last year in favor of Bill 2491. Reiterating their stance on the public’s right to know the type of pesticides seed companies spray on test fields, they said the law is necessary to protect public health.

Optimistic the 9th Circuit will overturn Kurren’s decision, Hooser made a motion Wednesday to kill Bill 2562.

"We are entitled to protect our health," he said. "It’s lunacy that the (federal) court tells us that it’s not our right to protect the community."

A majority of residents echoed Hooser’s sentiment that the law still has a chance at the 9th Circuit. Sandy Herndon of Kauai Rising testified, "We’re not done."

She added, "I want you to know we are not going to quit until our families are safe. It is our community. It is our situation. It is our families that are sick and dying."

Supporters of Ordinance 960 claim pesticide exposure is the root cause of residents’ ailments, particularly those who live on the west side. Seed companies have countered that there is no scientific evidence to support their claims.