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Minutes for HB2432 - Committee on Agriculture
Short Title
Creating the Kansas pesticide waste disposal program and allowing up to $50,000 to be transferred annually from the Kansas agricultural remediation fund to a new Kansas pesticide waste disposal fund.
Minutes Content for Tue, Jan 28, 2020
The Chair opened the hearing on HB2432 at 3:49pm.
Kyle Hamilton, Assistant Revisor, Office of The Revisor of Statutes, provided an overview of HB2432 and the statutes that it affects. (Attachment 2) There is a Fiscal Note for HB2432.
PROPONENTS
Kenneth Titus, Chief Counsel, Kansas Department of Agriculture, appeared before the Committee in support of HB2432. (Attachment 3) Under the Pesticide Waste Disposal Program, the term pesticide refers to all chemicals used to control pests, including herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, and fungicides. The distribution and use of pesticide products are regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and by the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) under the authority of Kansas Agricultural Chemical Act, the Kansas Pesticide Law, and the joint authority granted by federal law. While the intent of these laws is to provide comprehensive protections to the public and the environment, these laws can simultaneously make it difficult and expensive to dispose of unwanted pesticides.
In a two-year period from 2016 to 2018, KDA’s Pesticide and Fertilizer Program received a grant of $75,000 through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for the disposal of pesticide waste. Due to the grant funding, KDA established a contract with Clean Harbors, an environmental waste disposal company, for disposal of hazardous waste. Under this contract, Clean Harbors’ personnel go to the location of the waste pesticides, properly prepares the pesticides for shipment, and then transports them to the approved hazardous waste disposal sites. This process does not directly involve the pesticide owner and is done at no cost to them.
During the two-year grant period of September 2016 to September 2018, $74,201.26 or 98.9% of the total funding was utilized. Assistance was provided to two agricultural pesticide retailers and one non-agricultural pesticide retailer; one non-agricultural pesticide distributor; two pesticide business licensees; five agricultural producers; six agricultural facilities; and four household hazardous waste facilities resulting in 25,977 pounds of pesticide waste disposed.
This bill will facilitate the proper disposal of unwanted pesticides by reducing the financial burden associated with the disposal and reduce the human exposure risk by having the waste pesticides packaged and shipped by professionals. We believe the grant was efficiently used and demonstrated a need for such a program in Kansas, and this bill will allow this important public service to continue without creating an additional tax burden on the public.
Julie Coleman, Director, Bureau of Waste Management, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, appeared before the Committee in support of HB2432. (Attachment 4) HB2432 will provide funding for the safe collection and disposal of pesticide waste material. If left unattended, containers of unused pesticide may leak their contents into soil and pose a health hazard for people later coming into contact with the soil. In addition to unintentional releases, providing a collection program will prevent intentional dumping of unwanted pesticides.
Over time, pesticide released into the soil may percolate downward and contaminate groundwater used as a drinking water source for private and public wells. Clean up of contamination is time and resource intensive compared to prevention.
Collection and disposal of pesticide waste material will eliminate a source of contamination of soil and groundwater and provide for the protection of public health.
Shahira Stafford, Kansas Cooperative Council (KCC), appeared before the Committee in support of HB2432. (Attachment 5) The KCC supports the provisions set forth in HB2432, which would allow annual transfers up to $50,000 from the agricultural remediation fund to administer the pesticide waste disposal program within the KDA. The program was previously administered with federal grant dollars that are now expired; and our members feel that helping pay for the safe collection and disposal of pesticide waste materials is a valuable use of their dollars.
Randy Stookey, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Kansas Grain and Feed Association & Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KGFA & KARA), appeared before the Committee in support of HB2432. (Attachment 6) HB2432 would amend the remediation fund to allow annual transfers of up to $50,000 from the remediation fund to be used to fund a Pesticide Waste Disposal Program. This program would help to pay for the safe collection and disposal of pesticide waste materials, and would be managed by the Kansas Department of Agriculture. KGFA and KARA strongly support this legislation, and view this program as good public policy.
Written only testimony in support of HB2432 was received from Josh Roe, Vice President, Kansas Corn Growers Association. (Attachment 7)
There were no opponents/neutrals of HB2432.
The hearing on HB2432 was closed at 4:10pm.
The Chair adjourned the Committee at 4:11pm.
