HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0489.023 2018-2020 From: Colehour Bondera
To: Council Testimonv
Subject: Support of Bill 101
Date: Monday,October 14,2019 12:04:53 PM
Colehour Bondera
PO Box 861
Honaunau, HI 96726
Hawaii County Council
1055 Kinoole Street, Suite 101
Hilo, HI 96720
October 14, 2019
Re: County Bill 101 for herbicide use
Aloha Committee of Agricultural, Water, Energy and Environmental Management;
Thank you for considering my testimony regarding your timely consideration of an
amendment to Hawaii County Code which specifically prohibits use of herbicides on County
land--which can only help all of Hawaiis' residents. With all due respect, my purpose herein
is to share why you should approve the Bill to be sent to the full Council, and to be approved
at that time.
As a small-scale certified organic farmer, as well someone who grew up on a farm (in
Oregon),most of my life has included dealing with unwanted chemical use. That said, in
Hawaii, a very `young' and isolated part of the world, chemicals used travel quickly to other
parts of the environment than what is intended,via wind, and/or more importantly with water
movement down mountains and through soils which cannot hold onto much(since they are
geologically so young), and which relatively quickly reaches the ocean, affecting the marine
ecosystem as well as any neighbors' lands passed through.
Certainly the Bill is a place to start changing how land is managed by seeking to learn from
the past, and what worked effectively prior to current conventional weed control. Imported
chemicals,plus training and paying applicators of products generally does not save money, but
more-so simply does not acknowledge that Hawaii must look out for itself and not set up
systems that are so reliant on outside decision making that if"needed" chemicals became
unavailable or illegal,that nothing would be getting done.
It is time to, "put the tools in the toolbox", of all appropriate organic weed control and land
management methods, so that public spaces in Hawaii are examples of where visitors,tourists,
and primarily locals can and should feel safe, secure, and want to spend time. Hawaii can and
should be ahead of the curve in terms of being healthy and pristine, and demonstrating all of
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the opportunities; and not sharing through dependency on imported chemicals that were done
without for so long historically.
Both of my children were raised here, and having to watch for and pay attention for chemical
application trucks to basically guess what the random and occasional sign about chemical use
might mean, and where and when, always was a strain when going to a park(especially one
not near home) and/or when driving with the children on the highway, and never knowing
what to expect when in terms of the most secure health choices. We never wanted to keep our
children in their"safe" organic home/farm, but rather we encouraged them to be community
members and their health was always an issue with County pesticide processes; let's improve
that part of life here!
As an organic farmer, it is clear to me that often it is hard to know what national issues will
affect choices for myself and other farmers around me (organic and conventional). Company
products,process, and even availability in Hawaii all can affect choices at every level.
Frankly,neither the State of Hawaii,the Universities, or CTAHR have been able to keep up
with the research, outreach, education,promotion and more-so protection of organic
agriculture,which has meant-that farmers have to seek to have their needs met through direct
(and costly) contact with non-Hawaiian organic options.
For these reasons it was my choice to seek and be granted appointment to a 5-year(2011-
2016) assignment as a Producer representative on the National Organic Standards Board
(NOSB). During this time, I was part of the 15-person team that reviewed and recommended
to the USDA Secretary of Agriculture all things which could be used in an organic system
(and mind you there are a lot of choices!) For example, discussions often were very specific
about continuing to allow the use of chlorine for sanitization of containers, or the use of
ethylene for ripening of organic pineapples, etc., and in these ways we had to consider the
whole of the system in each discussion and analysis.
While it is not necessary for each of you to review and analyze each use of all of the chemicals
on the list included in this proposition,what you should do is to recognize that there are
human and environmental health questions/issues with all, and that one of the most significant
un-addressed factors which must not be ignored is the intended or unintended combination of
substances. Further is the significant percentage of"inert" ingredients in each of the
formulations,never tested by reviewers (only the "active" ingredients are tested by the EPA to
allow for use),which are not listed or known in terms of combined use drawbacks and cause
significant human and broader environmental health consequences that are often not visible
for decades...
By reducing and ultimately eliminating these chemicals in County spaces,the opportunities
for such errors is notably reduced,which means that Hawaii can continue to be the most
pristine and beautiful County to raise our children in, to farm in,to visit and to live in! With
experience on the NOSB at the national level, it was common to hear from and discuss all
topics with folks from around the world who follow the USDA standards that we were setting
in terms of what can and cannot be used in organic agriculture if the produce is to be
recognized through importation, etc. In that way it was simple to be aware of organic
standards that affect others around the world.
Your roles are to represent the interests of your constituencies and while that is varied to some
degree in each of your cases, all families are worried about the health of their children. As I
learned on the NOSB,while it is critical to learn from each others' experience, it is also vital
to agree to the commonalities that hold us together. This means that the NOSB group of 15
who try to hear each other also must listen to their representative constituencies and be sure to
recommend solutions that are best for all involved. This means that what is true for
agriculture applies to public space land management in the same ways...
Hawaii County can and should stay on the forefront of the best and most healthy choices that
can be maintained. Learning from the past, from our neighbors and from experience across the
country, and around the world, means that we should be stopping chemical uses, and instead
develop appropriate means for land management that are put in place before federal laws
change which make many of these chemicals illegal, for either some or all circumstances.
Thank you in advance for your consideration. For your information, while I continue as an
organic farmer to maintain the integrity of our own family impact on ourselves, neighbors, and
the broader community and environment, it is the place in the whole which affects me on a
daily basis, for which reason it has been relevant for me to continue after my NO SB service to
advise the standard patterns—so I have since and continue to serve as a Board member of
Beyond Pesticides,based in Washington,DC. While what I have put forth is from my
individual experience, and not from the organization, it is vital to recognize that the Mission of
Beyond Pesticides is to consider non-chemical options, and this Bill allows Hawaii County to
so engage, so thank you for making that happen!
Sincerely,
Colehour Bondera