Earthjustice, an environmental nonprofit law firm, served Hawaii’s Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) with a notice of intent to sue, claiming the agency has allowed pesticides to contaminate a drainage ditch on the island of Kauai, says The Civil Beat. ADC is a branch of the Hawaiian Department of Agriculture, leasing thousands of acres of land to farms that plant genetically engineered crops. Hawaii’s GMO farms, most of which grow seed for corn on the mainland, rely on heavy pesticide use, said a study commissioned by Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture.
In August of 2015, the ADC decided not to renew the Clean Water Act permit, which had for decades protected the drainage ditch in question. “The Clean Water Act requires a permit from those who intend to discharge harmful chemicals into state waters and wetlands,” says The Civil Beat. Instead ADC promised to develop its own plan for water quality and soil in the Mana Plain area, where the ditch sits. ADC officials were recorded saying that recently revised water quality standards from the state’s Department of Health “would be extremely difficult to meet, particularly at approval,” suggesting that the agency’s own standards for pesticide contamination may be lower.
“If pollutants are going into the water, the people have a right to know what those are,” says Kylie Wager, Earthjustice associate attorney. The firm has given ADC 60 days to address the fact that it currently does not comply with the Clean Water Act or it will take legal action.