HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0489.699 2018-2020 Testimony provided byJosephDeFrank in support of Communication 489.681: Mayor's veto
message regarding bill 101, Draft 2, relating to herbicide use. Date: 01/08/2020.
I am currently serving in my 37th year as a professional weed scientist in the College of Tropical
Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Standing for my testimony,
as a private citizen, is ownership of 6.3 acres of farmland in Hawaii County and actively conducting
business in Hawaii County as a producer of in-ground landscape ornamentals. In 2017 and again in
2019, I provided state-wide training to Hawaii Department of Transportations' (DOT) vegetation
management field staff on herbicide types and usage, environmental awareness for pesticide use on
roadways and procedures to insure pesticide applications consistent with product labeling. I also
contributed editorials services for the DOTs' "Highway Manual for Sustainable Landscape
Maintenance".
awarded over$500K with 3 HIDOT research contracts to develop
2006 to 2018 I was
protocols for hydro-seeding native Hawaiian plants on roadsides, large scale seed production of 4
native Hawaiian ground covers and production protocols for native plant seed production in roadside
landscapes. These projects provided me with 1st hand experience establishing native Hawaiian plants
on Oahu's busy roadways.
All of my DOT projects (see project deliverables at website:
https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/deFrankJ/NON HOMEPAGE PAGES/DOT native plant estb 2012.htm )
made use of herbicides to prepare roadside areas for establishing native Hawaiian plants and to
maintain seed production plantings in a weed free status. These protocols would'be unusable in
Hawaii County with the adoption of Bill 101. Also, my vegetation management trainings would
become irrelevant with the adoption of Bill 101. More important than the waste of tax payer dollars for
these efforts is the potential loss of life with adoption of Bill 101.
The eco-friendly methods of weed control, listed in Bill 101, will greatly increase the need for manual
labor to deploy mowing, grazing animals, mulching and much more frequent applications of non-lethal
herbicides. These labor intensive practices will place county personnel on the roadsides for longer
periods of time than is currently required with the use of conventional chemical herbicides.
Roadsides are a dangerous place to work and policies that increase a worker's time on the roadside
increases their risk of serious and potentially fatal injury.
I am supporting the mayors veto of Bill 101 based on the weak justification for banning the listed
herbicides, roadside vegetation management procedures that are not cost effective and increased
risk to worker safety due increased roadside work-time required to deploy the vegetation ';
management measures suggested in bill 101.
Respectfully submitted by, • ;:-.7
Joseph DeFrank, Ph.D. in Weed Science 'A=
3190 Maile Way :~ =
Mililani, HI 96789
Email: ioedhawaii.rr.com
Website: https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/deFrankJ/index.htm#HI WEED CONTROL HOME .
Comm. No 4 '`r '9
Ref. To: P]Coun 0 1
Ref. Dote JAN - 8 2020