Vermont lawmakers decided Thursday to postpone a vote on changing state rules that govern how people — farmers, gardeners and businesses — can use pesticides.
The rules, overseen by the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, haven’t been updated in more than 30 years. The new proposal would align state regulations with those of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The changes would require those who use commercial pesticides to provide more notification to landowners and the public about when and how they’re used. Towns would go through a new permit process for using the chemicals on private land and in public rights of way, and a new permit process would be required for certain types of mosquito spraying, Vermont Public first reported.
Environmentalists — some of whom sat in the room with signs while the committee deliberated on Thursday — have provided ample criticism on the rules. In particular, they want the state to go further in regulating the toxic chemicals in order to protect human health, water and pollinators. But the lawmakers’ decision to delay was centered on new comments from the Vermont Department of Health.
The lawmakers — members of the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, or LCAR — decide whether rules made within the executive branch should be finalized and put into place.
“Counsel has reminded us that we are the checkers of homework,” said Sen. Mark MacDonald, D-Orange. “We look at the administration’s homework and we say it passes or fails.”
Members of the committee are not responsible for weighing the policy being set by the rules, but rather base their decision on whether staff in state agencies have followed the correct process and invited all of the important voices to the table, said Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison.
Lawmakers already delayed the process to incorporate suggestions from the Department Environmental Conservation. Bray said it’s “a little troubling” to him that, while members of the Agency of Agriculture said they’d consulted with all of their “sister agencies” while drafting the rule, he has been getting last-minute calls and emails detailing concerns from other state officials.
“Prior to an earlier LCAR meeting on this, I received the call literally on the way to the Statehouse that the Department of Environmental Conservation had concerns,” he said.
The legislative committee paused its work and invited the department to explain, he said, and a back-and-forth prompted the Agency of Agriculture to amend its proposal.
Bray said he wasn’t sure how the process could have “led to an 11th-hour call from another agency saying, ‘We have concerns,’” he said.
“I’m feeling like the very same thing has happened with the Department of Health,” he said, citing an email that members of the department sent one day before the Thursday meeting. “I would hope that we would pause, and once again ask, in this case the Department of Health, to formally explain their concerns with the rule and to see a formal response from the Agency of Agriculture.”
Committee members voted to wait until officials with the department could provide formal comments, and they will meet in another two weeks.
While the final rules will likely not contain the additional provisions requested by environmental advocates, conversations about further restrictions on pesticides will likely take shape this legislative session.
Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden, said members of LCAR would send letters to lawmakers who serve on the relevant legislative committees.
“I do think there will be discussion in committees of jurisdiction,” Lyons said.
“The combination here is really a public health and environmental set of issues and I think it’s important that we address it as much as possible,” she continued. “I’m hopeful that some of our committees will be diving into this a little bit.”