We need the people of Oregon to contact their Senators and urge them to support Senate Bill 683. It fixes a critical issue with Oregon's Pesticide Use Reporting System.

Problem

Pesticides are widely used throughout Oregon on farms, roadsides, schools, parks, and homes. Despite conscientious efforts by applicators that apply pesticides according to federal requirements, these chemicals contaminate our water, air and even our bodies. Pesticides were found in every single Oregon waterway tested by the U.S. Geological Survey. Moreover, research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that over half of Americans have pesticides in their bodies. The Ontario College of Family Physicians recommends that people "[a]void exposure to pesticides whenever and wherever possible." Among the risks they highlighted are cancer and nerve damage.

In part to respond to these concerns, the 1999 Oregon Legislature voted 88 to 2 to create a pesticide use reporting system that requires commercial applicators and governments to report to the Oregon Department of Agriculture the location and amount of pesticides they apply. While the law was passed in 1999, the program was not funded until 2005. At that same time the legislature changed the way data is reported. The location of agricultural pesticide applications was expanded from one square mile to basins -- which are generally 5,000 to 15,000 square miles in size. Unfortunately, that shift has severely lessened the value of the data.

Take Action

You are the solution. Please write of call your Senator today. Urge her/him to vote "yes" on Senate Bill 683. Also ask her/him to contact Senator Kurt Schrader, a co-chair of the Ways and Means committee. Your Senator should ask him to move the bill through committee so that it can get the vote it deserves by the whole Senate.

If your senator is Kurt Schrader (representing mostly Clackamas County) your letter is even more important. As a Co-Chair of the Ways and Means committee, he has the ability to move this important bill through committee so that it can get the vote it deserves by the whole Senate. He also can keep the bill stalled where it will die when the session ends next month. He is still undecided about this bill. He needs to hear from you, his constituent.

Comments should be submitted by no later than Friday May 25.

This is a crucial time and the stakes are high. Call the Oregon Capitol now at (800) 332-2313 or send an e-mail. Tell your Senator to vote "yes" on SB 683.

• Find out the name of your legislator at: http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/
• Get their e-mail address at: http://www.leg.state.or.us/senate/

Sample Letter

Dear Senator [       ],

I'm very concerned about how and where pesticides are being applied in our communities.

Oregon passed a pesticide use reporting system in 1999, but it's been weakened to the point that the information collected is virtually useless.

Senate Bill 683 is a good solution. It's a simple fix to give public health researchers, drinking water providers, and medical doctors the information they need.

I urge you to make sure SB 683 receives a fair hearing, and then please vote yes on SB 683.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

Background

Senate Bill 683 proposes two simple fixes that makes the law more useful for public health researchers and drinking water providers, while maintaining the confidentiality of individuals.

Senate Bill 683 would:

1. Have agricultural pesticide applications be reported by the ninety-seven watersheds that make up the state of Oregon. These watersheds, known as fourth field Hydrologic Unit Codes or HUCs are approximately 1,000 square miles in size.
2. Restore detailed reporting of government pesticide applications. Applications by and for governments would be reported by specific address.

These simple changes will:

Help protect our drinking water:The Portland Metropolitan Area's Regional Water Providers Consortium, providing water to over 1/3 of Oregon's residents, stated, "The level of detail that the 4th field HUC will provide will make the data collected under PURS more meaningful to water providers. The data will also help water providers evaluate risk, assess pesticide use trends, tailor monitoring programs and improve outreach." (Michael McKillip, Letter to Senator Brad Avakian, April 11, 2007)

Protect human health: "The PUR system is an important step in the diagnosis and treatment of exposed patients, but data on the location of spraying needs to be as specific as possible." (Andy Harris MD, E-mail to Senator Avakian, April 2, 2007)

Help farmers find appropriate pest management techniques: "California Pesticide Use Report data are fundamental to the efforts to track pest management trends and the percentage of particular commodity acreage that is being treated with the products under regulatory consideration or their alternatives." (John Steggall of the California Department of Food and Agriculture).

To read the bill, go to: http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measpdf/sb0600.dir/sb0683.a.pdf