Call on the BOA to urge movement on quarantine rules for pest infested plants and materials

It has been nearly five months since the Department of Agriculture held a public hearing on its proposed invasive species quarantine rules, which received overwhelming public support, and almost 16 months since the Board of Agriculture first approved the rules for a public hearing. Yet, we have seen no further movement toward adopting these rules.

The department also continues to remain silent on naming businesses that have refused to stop knowingly selling pest-infested products, denying the public critical information needed to protect themselves and their neighborhoods from infestations. 

Meanwhile, little fire ants and coconut rhinoceros beetles continue to invade new areas across the islands, threatening to wreak even greater havoc on Hawaiʻi’s ecosystems, crops, and communities.

The department's ongoing failure to pass rules to stop the sale of pest infested plants and products is risking irreversible harm to every aspect of life here in Hawaiʻi today and for future generations.

Why is it taking the department so long to pass these common sense rules? Why is the department so apprehensive to stop “bad actor” businesses that are knowingly selling pest-infested plants and materials? What are the department’s plans for the $20 million provided by the legislature this year to bolster its efforts?

Join us in urging the Board of Agriculture to get its department leaders to answer these questions and fulfill their public trust responsibilities at the board’s next meeting on Tuesday, June 25 at 9am, in-person or by Zoom. The board will be discussing updates to its Invasive Species Action Plan, where the public will have the opportunity to provide verbal testimony. Written testimony is also encouraged. 

Hawaiʻi Board of Agriculture Meeting
Date: Tuesday, June 25, 9am, view the agenda here
In-person: Plant Quarantine Branch, 1849 Auiki Street, Honolulu, 96819
Virtually: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86126803539
Written testimony can be submitted to: hdoa.board.testimony@hawaii.gov
Subject line: Testimony re: VI.1 Invasive Species Action Plan Updates

Sample testimony:

Aloha e Chair Hurd and members of the Board of Agriculture, 

My name is [first name] from [place name]. I first want to thank the Board and the Department for providing updates on the department’s Invasive Species Action Plan. The longstanding lack of a comprehensive pest management strategy, including plans for control and eradication as required by law, has surely contributed significantly to the spread of invasive species and their deleterious impacts across our islands. Please continue to hold these updates so that the Board and the public can be informed of the actions being planned and taken to deal with our invasive species crises, which are placing our islands’ ecosystems, farms, economy, quality of life, people, and pets at risk.

I also urge the Board to recognize that actions by both the department and by our communities to deal with invasive pests will continue to be severely undermined, without the intra- and inter-island quarantine requirements proposed for HAR Chapter 4-72. These rule amendments have been “in the works” for nearly a year and a half since the Board’s original approval to move them to public hearing, and they still have not been brought back for Board action since their public hearing in January. 

These quarantine rules are essential to the current all-hands-on-deck fight against the rapid spread of invasive pests like little fire ants and coconut rhinoceros beetles, which continue to be found in new areas and on new islands. Businesses like nurseries and landscapers are a major vector for the spread of invasive pests, including into new areas, or regions where they had been previously eradicated. It is unacceptable that there are no current measures to prevent businesses from knowingly selling infested goods - especially when the Department keeps our communities in the dark regarding which businesses have known infestations.

[Optional: include your own story, perspective, or experiences with invasive pests here.]

Accordingly, I respectfully and strongly urge the Board to ensure that the Department brings the proposed quarantine rule amendments for your review and approval at your next meeting, and give itself the long-overdue regulatory tools needed to ensure that current and future community efforts to combat invasive pests are not in vain. 

Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.