Posted January 16, 2014
Agricultural biotechnology companies, Dow, Syngenta,
BASF, and DuPont Pioneer, have filed a lawsuit to block the implementation of a
bill passed by the Hawaii County of Kauai which would regulate the use of
pesticides and genetically modified (GMO) crops, according to an article by
Agri-Pulse available here.
On January 10, Agrigenetics, Inc., a company affiliated
with DuPont Pioneer and Syngenta, jointly filed a complaint in the U.S.
District Court of Honolulu against the County of Kauai over the enactment of
Bill 2491. The final version of the bill
is available here.
The law requires agricultural entities to “disclose their
use of pesticides, as well as their growing of any GMO crops in annual public
reports to the State Department of Agriculture.” The law “also requires a
500-foot buffer zone near schools and homes and several other locations.” In addition, the County of Kauai “must also
complete an Environmental and Public Health Impact Study (EPHIS) intended to
address environmental and home health questions related pesticide and
genetically modified crop use by commercial agricultural entities.”
Last fall, the Kauai County Council passed the bill
with a 6-1 vote. Soon after, Mayor
Bernard Carvalho, Jr. vetoed the bill, citing legal concerns. The Kauai County Council, however, overturned
the veto in a 5-2 vote in November.
The companies argue that the bill is “fatally flawed
because it damages the Plaintiffs’ property by forbidding them from planting
any crops in buffer zones without good cause, violates the Kauai County
Charter, and attempts to regulate in an area occupied by state and federal
law,” according to an article by KHON 2 available here.
The law is scheduled to take effect on August 16.
For more information on biotechnology and pesticides,
please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here
and here.
