HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0491.014 2020-2022 ail a(
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From: Steve DeMeritt
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2021 12:18 PM COUNTY CLERK
To: Council Testimony COUNTY OF I'I
Subject: Glyphosate in Parks RECEIVED
Ti MI �
Dates NOV 12021
Aloha,
My name is Steve DeMeritt and I have been a licensed Private Pesticide Applicator in 2 different states and a Public Pesticide
applicator in Oregon from 1992 to 2005.
1 have sprayed thousands of gallons of herbicides, pesticides,and fungicides and while I do not endorse a full ban on all pesticide use
I believe they are vastly overused by maintenance people as a one size fits all solution for all sorts of problems and having been a
Public Pesticide Applicator for the City of Eugene in Oregon I got too see both the inside view(Parks and Public Works)and well as
the citizen view and public perceptions of a very divided community.
Within the City of Eugene as well a career of prior landscape and nursery experience I saw some applicators spray and use pesticides
in a responsible manner but it seemed over time that the people who sprayed the most became more careless over time and saw
spraying as their solution to many work problems and failed to integrate other Integrated Pest Management approaches to solve
maintenance problems.
Eugene did try to impliment certain best practices to assist in the responsible use of pesticides and some of the worker-pesticide
applicators came up with some of the best solutions for compromise and responsible use. One example was the use of pesticides in
and around playgrounds and picnic tables. The general public sometimes got upset when a pesticide applicator started to spray
around playground structures while keiki were playing or while people were eating food. The first solution tried was to spray only in
the early morning hours before people started using a playground or picnic table area but then some of the early morning joggers
and walkers would express concern about workers skulking around in the dark and trying to spray without getting noticed.
Ultimately, many of the play and picnic areas became no spray zones and there were certain parks which got a lot of negative public
response and workers tried to control weeds with other methods including hand pulling, hoeing and raking away weeds, propane
flaming and hot water treatments.
One thing I would like to make clear is that legally a Public Pesticide Applicator MUST read and understand the label of a pesticide to
be applied EACH and EVERY TIME they make a pesticide application. While I was still spraying and reading labels the herbicide
Roundup's label said that pets and people had to be kept out of treated areas until the spray had thoroughly dried. This was the law
at least at that time. So workers who wanted to spray a picnic area or playground for instance caution-taped off areas to be sprayed,
sprayed the area while an assistant made sure no citizens or pets entered the area and waited until all the spray residue had dried
before removing the caution tape.This is a lot like having workers who are pouring concrete to cordon off the area and wait till the
concrete is dry enough and firm enough that it doesn't get footprints or tire marks while it sets up. This is just common sense,and it
would really help encourage public trust if the County would at least make an effort to protect people and pets AS THE LAW
REQUIRES.
Also, and not in parks but other places in the County I have seen on multiple occasions where one guy is driving a pick-up truck with
a sprayer in the pack and the passenger is the Applicator with a hose and nozzle hanging out the passenger door and blasting
roadside vegetation. The law says that people and pets cannot reenter the area until it is dry so the best way to do this correctly is
send out a team of people with signs and cones if necessary and to have workers in visual contact making sure that no people or pets
enter the area until the spray has completely dried. You may want to consult with your legal counsel about how to deal with your
liability issue now that you have knowledge that workers have been ignoring laws in Hawaii and what risks do you put Hawaii County
in by ignoring rules that you should have been following all along.
Mahalo,
Steve DeMeritt
Pahoa
Comm. too,
Ref. To:
Ref. Date NOV 1 7 2
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