For Immediate Release: April 10, 2003

Contact:
Matt Blevins, 503-819-9375
Laura Weiss, 503-222-1963, ext 111
Aimee Code, 541-344-5044 ext 27
Rhett Lawrence, 503-231-4181, ext 313

Salem ­ A bill to fund Oregon's pesticide tracking program through expanded fees on pesticide retailers was heard by the Senate Revenue Committee this afternoon. The bill, SB 847, would require anyone who sells pesticides at the retail level in Oregon to pay an annual license fee.

"Finding new, creative sources of funding to pay for programs like Oregon's pesticide tracking system is crucial in these difficult budget times," said Matt Blevins of the Oregon Environmental Council and the Oregon Pesticide Education Network. "In this case, it makes sense for us to look to pesticide users and sellers who are contributing to the problem but not to the solution."

Under a law passed in 1999, anyone who uses a pesticide for a commercial or government-related purpose in Oregon has to report his or her pesticide use to the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA). This law applies to urban pest control companies, schools, golf courses, cities, road crews, as well as farmers. Household pesticide use will be tracked via survey.

To date, however, the pesticide tracking system has not been completed and is currently stalled because the Legislature has failed to fund the program.

Under the bill before the Senate Committee today, the pesticide retailer fee would range from $25 to $150 a year, and would be graduated based on the total revenue of the store. In this way, smaller stores would not have to pay as much as the larger retail establishments.

The revenue raised via the fee would be dedicated to funding Oregon's pesticide tracking system and would be sufficient to replace the General Fund dollars currently allocated for the program.

"Several studies show that pesticide use in urban and suburban settings is a significant contributor to the pesticide problem," said Laura Weiss of the Oregon Environmental Council. "It only makes sense for the thousands of Oregon retailers that sell millions of pounds of pesticides to the average urban and suburban pesticide user to contribute to the tracking system."

A recent U.S. Geological Survey study in the Seattle area found 23 different pesticides in water from urban streams, some of which were at levels that exceeded limits set to protect aquatic life. The USGS concluded that use of these pesticides on lawns and gardens significantly contributed to this contamination.

"State and federal agencies identified pesticide tracking as an important tool to protect public health, salmon and water quality," said Aimee Code of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides.

Earlier this week, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality released findings that 11 currently used pesticides are in Willamette Valley wells. Currently, DEQ is unable to pinpoint where pesticides enter groundwater to limit contamination. "With pesticide use information, DEQ would be better able to address this problem," noted Rhett Lawrence of OSPIRG.

Currently, funding for the tracking program comes from a combination of registration fees paid by pesticide manufacturers and the state General Fund. The law currently prevents ODA from spending the registration fees on the program unless the Legislature allocates an equivalent amount of money from the General Fund. "Given the state's financial problems, this approach to funding the program no longer makes sense," said Blevins.