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Legislation

Pesticide Buffer Zone Legislation - SB 20

In an effort to protect children from pesticide exposure, the Senate Judiciary Committe and Representative Paul Holvey introduced legislation to create pesticide free buffer zones around schools.

Status

SB 20 received its hearing before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on April 10, 2007.  Committee Chair Brad Avakian said that the testimony by Oregon Toxics Alliance and Forestland Dwellers, educators, chemists, foresters, and the advocates of children’s health was excellent and convincing.

Unfortunately, due to the power of the agriculture and timber lobbies - and the fact that this was a session when our legislators were even more highly sensitive to agriculture interests than usual - the bill itself never received a vote.

As an alternative, Senators Walker, Bates, and Prozanski suggested that the Senate set up an interim task force (or work group) on pesticide practices and children’s health. Click here for up to date information on the task force.

Synopsis

The following is a brief summary of what the bill proposed. The actual legislation can be viewed at the Oregon State Legislature web site (SB 20):

  • Eliminate use of herbicides sprayed by aerial or motorized application within a one-mile buffer zone around public schools and public parks, and ½ mile for ground sprays.
  • Restrict use of pesticides sprayed by aerial application within one-mile of roads serving rural schools immediately before and after school hours.
  • Require that school districts be notified when pesticides will be sprayed nearby a school in their district.

Endorsements

The following organizations and individuals endorsed SB 20:      

  • Oregon Environmental Council
  • Cascadia’s Ecosystems Advocates
  • City of Eugene Intergovernmental Relations Committee (Eugene)
  • Columbia River Keepers
  • Community Alliance of Lane County
  • Concerned Citizens for Clean Air (Lincoln County)
  • Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy
  • Eugene City Councilor Bonnie Bettman
  • Forestland Dwellers (Western Lane County)
  • Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation –Chapter of the AFT/AFL-CIO (Eugene)
  • Lane County Commissioner Bill Fleenor (West Lane County)
  • Lane County Commissioner Peter Sorenson (Central Lane County)
  • Lane County Educational School District (Deb Egan, Superintendent)
  • Lane County Intergovernmental Relations Committee
  • Mohawk Grange (Lane County)
  • Native Forest Council (Eugene)
  • Oregon Center for Environmental Health (Portland)
  • Oregon Education Association
  • Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (Portland)
  • Oregon Sierra Club (Portland)
  • Oregon Toxics Alliance (statewide)
  • Oregon Wild (Portland)
  • OSPIRG
  • Rachel's Friends (Portland)
  • UO Law Professor Merle Weiner
  • Many Rivers Group of the Oregon Sierra Club