Bill Advances Establishment of a Pesticide Use Database;

Advocates Push for Strong, Balanced Committee

 

Governor Martin O’Malley today signed the Pesticide Reporting and Information Workgroup Act (HB 775/SB675). The new statute creates a workgroup to study the need for a pesticide use database and then issue recommendations. The bill was one of the environmental community’s top priorities for the 2013 General Assembly session.

“This is an important step toward the establishment of a pesticide use reporting database,” said West/Rhode Riverkeeper Chris Trumbauer, member of the Smart on Pesticides Maryland coalition that headed up the effort. “A broad coalition of Marylanders wants action on this issue. The workgroup provides the opportunity for all stakeholders to work together to better understand the relationship between pesticides and public health and wellbeing.”

The new workgroup will evaluate the latest scientific research, learn about existing gaps in data, address stakeholders’ concerns and questions, and make recommendations about how to best obtain information about pesticide use in Maryland. It will consist of two senators and two delegates, and of representatives of various interested parties jointly appointed by the President of the Maryland Senate and the Speaker of the House. The group’s preliminary findings are due by the end of December 2013, with a final report due in July 2014.

“We support the pesticides workgroup as a good start, and we expect it to have balanced representation, including public health and environmental representatives,” said Rebecca Ruggles, Director of the Maryland Environmental Health Network. “Our public health experts need this data in order to be able to assess the impact of pesticides on children and families.”

The original bill would have required pesticide applicators, as well as sellers of restricted-use pesticides, to report information they are already required to maintain. Homeowners would not have been affected, while setup and maintenance costs would have been covered by a modest increase in fees borne by chemical manufacturers.

Pesticide exposure is linked to many chronic illnesses, including asthma, autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as to birth defects and fertility