Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille is making good on her vow to ease the island away from Roundup and similar herbicide applications at county parks and along county-maintained thoroughfares.
Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille is making good on her vow to ease the island away from Roundup and similar herbicide applications at county parks and along county-maintained thoroughfares.
Wille’s Bill 71, to be heard by the council Committee on Environmental Management on Tuesday, would ban a long list of herbicides, including Monsanto Co.’s glyphosate-based Roundup.
The council in May, after hearing from testifiers urging the county to take Roundup out of its budget, changed the $30,000 line-item from “Roundup” to “vegetation management.” Wille at the time said she’d seek stronger measures.
“You’ve got kids and animals playing in it and not being aware that it’s been sprayed,” Wille said Thursday. “There is great concern about the cumulative impact of toxins on our kids and what we can do to decrease that and take some responsibility.”
Wille added that she’s sponsoring the bill on behalf of “the birds and the bees that can’t come testify.”
The public can testify at the start of the meeting, scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers in Hilo. Testifiers can also participate by videoconference from the West Hawaii Civic Center, Waimea council office, the county facility in Kohala, Naalehu state office building and the Pahoa neighborhood facility.
Bill 71 bans glyphosate, 2, 4-Dichloro-phenoxyacetic, atrazine, dioxin, picloram, bipyridinium, diphenyl ether and tyrosine breakdown products from county-owned or -maintained roads, bikeways, sidewalks, trails, waterways and parks.
The list also includes all herbicide products that bear a signal label of “dangerous,” “warning,” “toxic to fish” or “toxic to fish and wildlife” or that indicate a risk of groundwater contamination. Herbicide products with only a signal label of “caution” would be allowed, under the bill.
The bill, if approved by the council and the mayor, would go into effect July 1 of next year, giving the county time to use up its inventory and to prepare alternatives.
It’s not known how the county would handle weeds without the herbicides. Public Works Director Warren Lee has said there isn’t enough money in the budget or staff to clear weeds by hand on 1,000 miles of roadway. Some 60 to 65 percent of roadside maintenance is done with mowers, another 10 percent manually and 25 to 30 percent with herbicides, he said.
The World Health Organization in March said glyphosate was “classified as probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The Kona Soil and Water Conservation District last year sent a letter to Lee, notifying him of concerns about how the county crews were applying Roundup. Chairman Rick Robinson said there were concerns about over-application, drift of the airborne chemical during high-pressure applications and that areas weren’t allowed to dry the full four hours required before people were allowed to walk on the area.
Monsanto spokeswoman Monica L. Ivey says the company stands by the safety of the product when used according to label directions.
“Glyphosate-based herbicides have been safely used for 40 years and when used properly, is an important tool that helps farmers, businesses, government agencies and homeowners control weeds,” Ivey said in an email response in May. “Glyphosate is one of the most widely used and comprehensively evaluated herbicides, and works by targeting an enzyme that is found in plants, not in humans or animals.”