Landscaping Issues

RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment)® joined more than 350 pesticide user organizations this week, sending a letter to all members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives voicing support for the pesticide regulatory system currently in place under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) of 1972. The letter is in response to legislation S. 3283, or ‘Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act,” introduced in November 2021 by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). The bill’s aim is to amend FIFRA by removing certain pesticides from use, specifically: Organophosphate insecticides Neonicotinoid insecticides Paraquat Yet RISE says the legislation “would undermine the rigorous, science-based standards of FIFRA and threaten the availability of the safe and effective pesticide products that protect public health, pets, infrastructure, schools, waterways, green spaces, and food and agriculture production.” The proposed legislation would impact products and applications made for: vector control; protecting and enhancing homes and public places; for noxious and poisonous weed control; creating firebreaks and utility rights of way; protecting public infrastructure; and for controlling invasive and non-native species that harm native species and ecosystems. According to a statement from Booker’s office, “Each year, the U.S. uses over a billion pounds of pesticides — nearly a fifth of worldwide use.” It continued, “Approximately one-third of annual U.S. pesticide use — over 300 million pounds from 85 different pesticides — comes from pesticides that are banned in the European Union. The pesticide regulation statute… contains many loopholes that put the interests of the ...