Skip to main content
Blog Energy & Environment

State Ag Dept. Moves to Phase Out Pesticide as Bill to Ban it Progresses

By

After resisting legislation to ban the chemical for the past few General Assembly sessions, the Maryland Agriculture Department announced Wednesday that it would take steps to phase out chlorpyrifos, a powerful and controversial pesticide used on certain food crops and golf courses.

“In light of the department’s ongoing conversations with farmers, I have directed MDA to convene all interested stakeholders and begin the process of crafting reasonable and responsible regulations that will accelerate the phase out of chlorpyrifos,” Agriculture Secretary Joseph Bartenfelder said in a statement.

“This is in the best interest of the agriculture industry and the environment, and will protect the independence and integrity of our robust science-based regulatory framework while providing farmers time to identify alternative or replacement products.”

But with bills to ban chlorpyrifos progressing through the House and Senate, environmental advocates panned the administration’s announcement.

Chlorpyrifos is a nerve-agent pesticide that has been associated with slowing children’s brain development as well along with environmental damage. It is often used by farmers and groundskeepers as a last resort, when other chemicals fail to fight off pests.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took steps to ban the chemical under the Obama administration, but those regulations have been rolled back during the Trump administration.
“The Hogan Administration’s sudden change of heart in favor of considering regulating the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos is surprising, after three years of active opposition to legislation that would ban it,” the group Smart on Pesticides Coalition said in a statement. “The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s proposal is not acceptable. MDA is simply not equipped financially or with expertise to develop and defend a regulation banning chlorpyrifos.”
House and Senate committees held hearings last week on bills to ban the pesticide, but the state Agriculture Department only provided written information and did not weigh in directly on the legislation.
The sponsors of the measures, Sen. Clarence K. Lam (D-Howard) and Del. Dana Stein (D-Baltimore County) issued statements late Wednesday saying they intended to press ahead with their legislation.
“The Department’s proposal for a regulatory phase out could allow for numerous delays, exemptions, and loopholes that result in continued exposure to chlorpyrifos,” Stein said. “EPA scientists have concluded that there is no safe level for use of chlorpyrifos, and that’s why we need to take concrete steps to ban this product now.”
Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee Chairman Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George’s) said he hoped to bring the bill to a vote in his committee on Friday.
“I would like to because I don’t trust the regulatory process,” he said.

 

 

Tags:

Josh Kurtz

Founding editor

Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.

All posts by Josh Kurtz

Did you get the Memo?

Visit the SUBSCRIBE page to sign up for our morning newsletter.

Related Articles

Meet the state lawmakers running for Congress: Sen. Clarence Lam

‘The legislative work is not dissimilar from the patient care and clinical work I do. It’s about helping people…you’re interacting with others, you’re really trying to solve their problems,’ Lam said.

Dunn, Alsobrooks, Vogel touting fundraising numbers ahead of deadline

Campaign finance reports for the first quarter of 2024 are due to be filed with the Federal Election Commission on April 15, providing a fuller picture of the state of various races.

Should people with severe mental health needs get court-ordered treatment? State Senate to decide

Some mental health and disability advocates worry that the process could further traumatize those who are already struggling.

REPUBLISHING TERMS

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

To republish, copy the following text and paste it into your HTML editor.

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
State Ag Dept. Moves to Phase Out Pesticide as Bill to Ban it Progresses