Green Groups, Farming Community at Odds Over Pesticide Ban

Citing "alarming" data in a study being worked on by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, more than 20 environmental groups on Wednesday called for an outright ban of three particular pesticides in an effort to protect drinking water aquifers.

But citing the process of a study that still remains incomplete – DEC officials said the Draft Long Island Pesticide Use Management Plan should be complete within two months, followed by a public comment period – the farming community fired back by saying it wants to see the process played out before any regulations, if any, are made.

"Following the results of the study, an advisory committee including environmental scientists will determine which, if any, pesticides we need to find an alternative use for," said Joe Gergela, executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau. "If we can find alternative uses, we will."

Gergela said that some of the standards regulating different chemicals in drinking water are "unrealistic," a concept Bob DeLuca, executive director of the Group for the East End, alluded to when he called some of them "arbitrary."

However DeLuca said on Thursday that he believes in a more cautionary approachby calling for the zero tolerance policy of the "most dangerous" chemicals - atrazine, metalaxyl, and imidacloprid. DeLuca said it could take a couple of years until the study is finally completed, an advisory committee is formed, conclusions are agreed upon, and those determinations are put into effect. The study has been under development since 1998.

The DEC responded in a statement by saying it has "historically taken a more conservative approach to pesticide registration on Long Island than in the rest of the state," adding that it is "working with a group of stakeholders ... while balancing the need for continued use of pesticides for agricultural, pest control, and public health purposes."

Gergela added that he was unsure how integral the three chemicals are to agricultural production in Suffolk County, New York State's highest grossing agricultural county in terms of revenue generated annually. He said that imidacloprid is used to keep potato beetles under control. A call to Dale Moyer, associate executive director at Cornell Cooperative Extension, was not immediately returned.

When complete, the draft study will be available on the DEC website.