The state Department of Agriculture in Hawaii has only one employee assigned to review pesticide inspection reports and follow up on possible violations. And she says she hasn’t gotten around to reviewing most reports in several years so there’s been little if any action against pesticide misuse.
Since 2009, the department has suffered budget cuts that have stretched its pesticide oversight to the limit, its director says. There are only six pesticide inspectors in the state, including one on Kauai, where local officials are moving to take pesticide oversight into their own hands.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Health has no program in place to regularly test for pesticide contamination in the soil, air, or water.
This, as Kauai County and the rest of the state heavily debate the use of genetically modified foods, including those made with pesticide-resistant seeds, on the Islands.
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Read the full, original story here: “Frustrated By State’s Inactivity, Kauai County Takes Pesticide Fight Into Its Own Hands”
