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An estimated 300 people packed the Montgomery County Council chamber Thursday for the first of two public hearings on a proposed ban on lawn pesticides.
The bill — introduced by council President George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) of Takoma Park — bans the use of nonessential pesticides from lawns and certain public green spaces, but not from agriculture, turf farms and golf courses.
Reactions to the proposal among the first 40 speakers were strong and polarized.
To proponents, a law would protect county residents and pets from unnecessary exposure to chemicals many believe to be toxic.
“Pesticides are designed to kill living things, so it is not a surprise that they are harmful to humans, especially children,” said Rebecca Rehr, public health advocacy coordinator for the Maryland Environmental Health Network.
Paxson Barker, a professor of nursing and member of the advisory board of the Maryland Pesticide Network, said a significant, growing body of science links pesticides to human health conditions.
Studies, she said, link exposure to pesticides to chronic diseases such as asthma and COPD, as well as cancer, birth defects, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and others.
Chris Nidel of Rockville, a lawyer specializing in environmental litigation, said the bill is a “common sense measure” that balances costs and benefits of chemicals.
Opponents said research cited to support the ban is incomplete and contradictory.
Stuart Z. Cohen of Silver Spring, an environmental chemist, said the county’s list of banned substances is based, in part, on a discredited study and not on actual risk.
“The proposed list of nonessential pesticides,” he said, “is not scientifically valid.”
“I applaud the intent of the draft act, but not the approach,” said county resident David Fitch. Fitch encouraged the county to follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and use integrated pest management, which includes the use of some chemical pesticides.
Lawn-care professionals were divided on the issue.
Some, like Brian Schoonmaker, president of Capital Pest, opposed the bill, saying it would eliminate pest-control companies’ tools for fighting mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and bedbugs.
“We cannot afford to have a group of citizens, with no pesticide research backgrounds in the study of the safety of these products, spearhead a law that does not weigh the many benefits of safe and effective use of these pesticides versus the risk,” he said.
Others, like John “Zack” Kline, owner of A.I.R. Lawn Care, said his company successfully uses a natural, organic, pesticide-free technique.
“The results I have seen in my landscaping business show that lawns can be green and healthy at a reasonable cost while keeping people and pets healthy by avoiding the use of pesticides,” Kline said.
Many wanted the bill amended.
Several felt that the bill’s sunset provision, which would end the ban in 2019, needed to go. Others testified that athletic fields, like golf courses, should be exempt from the bill.
“We urge the council to exempt athletic fields that use these substances safely, professionally and only when necessary,” said Trish Heffelfinger, executive director of the Maryland Soccer foundation.
John Poulos, groundskeeper for Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, said about a quarter of all soccer injuries result from poor field conditions — “just one patch of clover is just as dangerous as a sinkhole.”
Andy Leon Harney of Chevy Chase urged the council to take a more moderate approach and questioned the bill’s exemptions.
“Is there something miraculous about the runoff from county agricultural land and golf courses that won’t go into the bay, won’t be harmful to children and others?” she asked. “Or is it because you don’t want to generate the ire of farmers and golfers in the county? If you believe the long, overly inclusive list of pesticides are harmful, why not ban them across the board?”
A second public hearing is planned for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12.
A council committee is scheduled to start discussing the bill on March 16.
kalexander@gazette.net