LIHUE — A coalition of Kauai residents and public interest groups, represented by the Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice, filed papers in federal district court Monday to intervene as defendants in the legal challenge of Ordinance 960, formerly Bill
LIHUE — A coalition of Kauai residents and public interest groups, represented by the Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice, filed papers in federal district court Monday to intervene as defendants in the legal challenge of Ordinance 960, formerly Bill 2491.
Kauai County Councilman Gary Hooser, who co-introduced Bill 2491, said the two firms promised from the beginning to defend the bill for free should it end up in court.
“It’s great news to have two law firms as experienced as they are stepping up to the plate,” Hooser said. “They have more experience than I think any law firms in the nation with this particular subject matter.”
The nonprofits seek to defend their interests by defending the county law related to pesticides and genetically modified crops from a federal lawsuit filed last month by Kauai’s four biotech seed companies, according to a release.
George Kimbrell, senior attorney for the Center for Food Safety, said that all parties are “directly affected by the outcome of this case and have a legal right to participate in it.”
The coalition of intervening groups is the Center for Food Safety, Pesticide Action Network North America and Surfrider Foundation, as well as a citizen group of directly affected residents, Ka Makani Hoopono, “The Wind That Makes Right,” according to a release.
“Center for Food Safety stands with the people of Kauai, and will protect this legally sound and important law from the pesticide industry’s attacks,” Kimbrell said in the release.
Paul Achitoff, managing attorney at Earthjustice, said his clients have interests that are not entirely parallel or covered by the county’s interests. While the county represents everyone on the island, including the industry that has filed suit, Earthjustice will be representing people and groups directly affected by the pesticide spraying, he said.
Those include a number of “Westside residents who have decided that they want to be part of this because they are really tired of what they’re going through and don’t feel the county is going to defend their interests,” Achitoff said.
Speaking on behalf of the organization’s 1,300 members in Kauai County, Paul Towers, organizing and media director at Pesticide Action Network, said his organization was joining with the people of Kauai and standing up to three of the world’s largest pesticide corporations.
“Kauai has become the testing grounds for the genetically engineered seeds and pesticides of a handful of corporations,” he said in the release. “These powerful interests hope to keep residents in the dark about what’s being applied next door to the places where children live, learn and play.”
Last month, Syngenta, DuPont Pioneer and Agrigenetics Inc., a company affiliated with Dow AgroSciences, filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, aimed at blocking implementation of Ordinance 960 and charging the county with violating the U.S. and Hawaii constitutions, multiple federal and state laws and the Kauai County Charter. BASF joined the suit last week.
Achitoff described companies suing “for the right to continue spraying Kauai’s residents with acutely toxic chemicals, and to keep what they spray and when they spray it a secret,” as “shameful.”
“Our clients deserve protection, and we will see that they get it,” he said in the release.
County spokeswoman Beth Tokioka said the county was aware of the attempt to intervene and will await the court’s decision on whether the motion is granted.
“The county is now focused on the selection of special counsel and retaining the most qualified firm to represent us successfully in this case,” she said. “Our goal is to complete that process this week. We fully expect the selected firm to provide a vigorous and effective defense.”
Hooser said it is his hope the court will grant the intervention so the county can have two legal teams working together toward the same end.
Ordinance 960 was passed by the Kauai County Council in November via a veto override.
It requires companies that use above a certain threshold of restricted use pesticides to disclose their use of all pesticides and the presence of genetically modified crops, establish buffer zones around sensitive areas and requires the county to complete a health and environmental impact study of the industry.
A scheduling conference related to the lawsuit is scheduled for April 14 in U.S. District Court in Honolulu.
• Chris D’Angelo, environmental reporter, can be reached at 245-0441 or cdangelo@thegardenisland.com.
