2022_07_19 Game Management Advisory Commission Minutes

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was before the lava and they’re expecting the EA to be done in October and they’re looking at 2025, but they said, hopefully sooner that they will have the roads done that they’re planning on doing, like I said, they’re prioritizing the roads on how they think the roads should be done and what order and what roads should be opened, so that’s the latest and the next time they have a revitalized Pahoa meeting I’ll be there and I’ll get the latest update and I’ll report back to everybody on that. So, thank you, Mahalo. AA: Any quick questions for Brian or comments that he should be asking at the next meeting from the public – anybody here? OK. Moving on –the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Acting Pesticide Program Manager Greg Takashima – he going be giving us a presentation of for the HogStop in their department. c. Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Acting Pesticide Program Manager Greg Takeshima will discuss the “HogStop” issue. GT: Hi everyone. Thanks for your time, Chair Abraham and Commissioners. I am Greg Takashima on the Pesticides Program under the Department of Agriculture Pesticide Branch – let me know if you folks see what I’m seeing right now. I’ve got a PowerPoint a relatively quick PowerPoint for you folks. AA: Yeah, we see it. GT: Ah, OK. Sorry, first time I’m using my tablet and if you hear kids running around I got two little ones running around in the background so, apologies for that. There we go – it’s starting to look like what I’m thinking it’s supposed to look like. OK. So, you know, just more for the information for everybody’s background information we have the Department of Agriculture – we don’t promote any particular products – we’re here to provide regulatory information for you folks and just to get things started to let you guys know what Pesticides Branch does – what is a pesticide? It’s defined both by federal and state laws – those are the two references for the specific definitions of a pesticide but the pesticide by quotes is “any substance or a mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pests.” So that’s kinda where HogStop kinda comes into our realm of regulatory enforcement. The exemptions from FIFRA regulations - so FIFRA is the acronym for the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act – that is the federal act that basically regulates all pesticides throughout the country and within FIFRA there’s a Section 25B which is specific to minimum risk pesticides. Now there’s six requirements for a pesticide to be considered minimum risk, it’s, actually the last five bullets but two are covered under the second bullet. Both active and inert ingredients need to be on the list of approved ingredients by EPA. The ingredients must be listed on the label – no claims to control pests that pose a threat to human health or rodents carrying specific diseases, ah, the name of the company and contact information has to be on the label and the label cannot include any false or misleading statements. I’ll go through these and kind of let you guys know where the check boxes are and stuff like that. OK, just for you folk’s information the EPA did exempt – back in 1996 – minimum risk pesticides to reduce the cost and regulatory burdens for businesses and the public for pesticides that pose and this is in quotes “little to no risk \[unclear\] EPAs resources on pesticides that pose greater risks to humans and the environment.” So that’s where the minimum risk idea comes from so this is the first requirement for that 17