Local
Government overreach!
Mr. George Leventhal of the Montgomery County Council has proposed
a bill, Bill 52-14, that if passed will ban the use of pesticides on home lawns
and landscapes and restrict your personal freedom to care for your
property. Pesticides are already well regulated by the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
The information Mr. Leventhal uses to make his case against
pesticides is an American Academy of Pediatrics study on chronic and acute
exposure to pesticides. The study, in fact, does not call for a ban on
the use of pesticides but recommends the practice of Integrated Pest Management
(IPM), which many lawn care companies are already doing, emphasizing the safe use of pesticides by simply following
the directions, and more consumer
awareness.
Mr.
Leventhal thinks using only Organics will completely eliminate the need for
chemical pesticides and IPM but organics alone will not maintain healthy turf,
shrubs, and trees etc. in Montgomery County, MD. As a reminder Montgomery
County Council members are insensitive to the fact not everyone in Maryland is a millionaire, organics
can cost anywhere from four to ten times more than traditional lawn care. But
the kicker is organics are much less effective.
Be aware
other areas have tried Mr. Leventhal’s plan and many ended with disastrous
results, not immediately evident since lawns have annual cycles. In one such
town, Wallingford, CT, a pesticide ban was enacted in 2010 on school athletic
fields. Invasive weeds plague their fields, bees are being attracted to
clover raising concerns of children having severe allergic reactions from being
stung.
Particularly
in the Montgomery County area, there are mosquitos and ticks. “Pesticides are the
primary way to take care of those things that could pose a threat to kid’s
health,” says Karen Reardon, a spokeswoman for the pesticide industry group
Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment. “Pesticides are very
well-understood products. They are rigorously reviewed and registered by
the EPA.”
If you
agree this bill should not pass, please contact your representatives as soon as
possible:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/index.aspx
Councilmember.Riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov
County Executive Ike Leggett= ocemail@montgomerycountymd.gov
[Adapted and edited from a 1/12/15 letter by Rowland Dennie of Rowland Landscapes. All copyrights maintained.]
