Expands the definition of pesticide to include seeds that have been coated or treated with an insecticide

Justification

The process of seed coating entails covering seeds with insecticide in an effort to repel pests as the plant grows. The pesticide grows with the plant in its tissue. The most common types of seed coatings are neonicotinoids, a class of chemicals that scientists have identified as a likely cause of widespread pollinator decline. The seed coating process began in the early 2000s, as neonicotinoids were first becoming popular. It has become a widely used process used by farmers across the country.

Unfortunately, environmentalists and scientists warn that the seed coating process is overused and dangerous to pollinator stability and human and environmental health.

According to a study by the University of Pennsylvania, in 2011 neonicotinoid seed coating was utilized on 34-44% of the nation's soybeans and 79-100% of corn seed. According to The Center for Food Safety, these figures conservatively amount for over 100 million acres of cropland, or about 57% of the total for these crops - covering an area roughly the size of California.

Many scientists warn that neonicotinoids are highly toxic to bees. When the coated seeds are planted tractors cause a dust cloud to appear, spreading some of the pesticide into the air which settles on the field or nearby plants. Bees fly through the dust and the chemical sticks to them, or they forage on wildflowers that are now coated with the chemical. This can lead to Colony Collapse Disorder, a problem that results in fewer bees, reduced crop pollination, and inevitably threatens the livelihood of farmers.

The chemicals have also been found in water sources. In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey surveyed streams across the country and found neonicotinoids in more than half of its samples, and in April 2017 researchers at the University of Iowa for the first time found neonicotinoids in treated tap water. This should pose serious concerns as the full impacts of this chemical on human and animal health are not yet known, though preliminary studies on this matter are alarming.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has jurisdiction to regulate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered pesticides. However, the EPA excludes pesticide application. by seed coating from its definition of pesticide application. As such, state raw is interpreted to mirror federal policy and excludes the ability to regulate pesticides used in the seed coating process. This results in a loophole in pesticide management and a potentially disastrous impact on the environment and pollinator health.

For example, in 2005 DEC rejected the Bayer Company's application to register a pesticide in the neonicotinoid class known as Poncho 600 in New York, which is used on corn, sorghum, canola, and rapeseed. DEC stated in its rejection letter: "Based on the high toxicity of clothianidin Poncho 600's active ingredient and the potential long-term chronic effects to honey bees, environmental persistence, possible role as an endocrine disrupter, chronic toxic risk to non-endangered and endangered small birds, and acute/chronic toxicity to non-endangered and endangered mammals, Poncho 600 should not be accepted for registration in New York." It added that the pesticide "appears to have a significant potential to cause a negative groundwater impact just from use of treated seed." As a result, Poncho 600 "may not be sold, offered for sale, distributed, or used in New York State."

DEC acknowledged in its letter that there is no regulatory prohibition on shipping previously treated seeds into the state, though its concerns about the pesticide persist even if seeds are treated in other states. Consequently, this interstate sale of seeds coated with Poncho 600 continues to be very common and the pesticide's widespread use continues in New York.

The European Union placed a temporary ban on neonicotinoids for use as seed coating in 2013 due to concerns over pollinator decline, and since then has not experienced any decline in overall crop production. Ontario, Canada has established a goal of reducing neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed by 80k from 2015 to 2017, stating the need to take a precautionary approach. As these locations have shown, effective alternatives to neonicotinoids exist, such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies.

This bill would address this regulatory loophole by giving DEC the explicit authority to regulate seed coating, allowing the state to further restrict the use of pesticides it already deems dangerous to the environment, drinking water, bees, and human health.

Prior legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.