{"id":17733,"date":"2016-03-23T00:00:08","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T04:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=17733"},"modified":"2016-03-23T09:16:24","modified_gmt":"2016-03-23T13:16:24","slug":"vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/","title":{"rendered":"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of &#8220;Treated Articles,&#8221; such as Neonic-Coated Seeds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>(Beyond Pesticides March 23, 2016)<\/em> Last week, the Vermont House of Representatives passed a bill that authorizes state \u00a0regulation of pesticide-treated products, \u00a0including \u00a0telephone poles and coated seeds, that are exempt from federal pesticide regulations. <a href=\"http:\/\/legislature.vermont.gov\/assets\/Documents\/2016\/Docs\/BILLS\/H-0861\/H-0861%20As%20Passed%20by%20the%20House%20Official.pdf\">H.861<\/a> is the latest in a string of laws introduced this legislative session in Vermont to address the impact of harmful neonicotinoid insecticides \u00a0on Vermont\u2019s ecology and agriculture, and symbolizes a concentrated effort by the legislature to reverse pollinator declines within the state. If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, the bill will \u00a0allow the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate above and beyond current federal laws, which exempt treated articles from regulation completely, and write appropriate rules in response to recommendations from a state Pollinator Protection Committee.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-17226\" src=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg\" alt=\"Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260\" width=\"300\" height=\"260\" align=\"right\"\/>The bill, which passed with wide support in the House, gives the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets the authority to regulate \u201ctreated articles,\u201d a term coined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to denote products treated with pesticides, such as utility poles, commercial crop seeds, and lumber. Traditionally, EPA gives rulemaking authority over pesticides to states, but that authority does not extend to products pre-treated with pesticides, which, until this point, has posed a problem for states like Vermont that wish to adapt to growing concerns over the prevalent use of neonicotinoid-coated seeds and their impact on pollinator species.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot regulating toxic substances that may pose a threat to humans or the environment would be reckless and irresponsible,\u201d said Rep. Teo Zagar, D-Barnard, a member of the House Committee on Agriculture and Forest Products where the bill originated.\u201d We\u2019ve learned too many things the hard way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neonicotinoid seed treatments have become increasingly common and are linked to the explosion of genetically engineered (GE) crops. At least 94% of the nation\u2019s 92 million acres of corn \u2014greater than the total size of the state of Minnesota, Nebraska, or both Dakotas\u2014 \u00a0will be treated with one of two neonicotinoids, both manufactured by Bayer CropScience. Currently, when farmers plant pesticide-treated, or coated, seeds using a mechanical seeder, lubricants used to keep the \u00a0seeds from sticking to the planter mechanism become contaminated are and expelled from the equipment as fugitive dust. The dust contaminates nearby plants .<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=6972\"> \u00a0A 2012<\/a> \u00a0study found that high amounts of neonicotinoids are present in the exhaust of corn seed planters and that bees are exposed to these potentially lethal concentrations of the chemical simply by flying through the area during planting.<\/p>\n<p>In June 2014, in a letter to EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) <a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2014\/06\/epa-rule-on-treated-seeds-challenged-activists-tell-lowes-to-stop-selling-neonics\/\">challenged<\/a> EPA\u2019s position that seeds coated with pesticides, commonly neonicotinoid pesticides, are exempt from regulation \u00a0under the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). EPA argued that pesticide-coated seeds are \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/cfr\/text\/40\/152.25\">treated articles<\/a>, exempting them from being regulated as a pesticide and should be regulated by USDA under the Federal Seed Act. CFS responded in early 2016 by filing a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.centerforfoodsafety.org\/files\/2016-1-6-dkt-1--pls--complaint_11142.pdf\">lawsuit<\/a> in federal court charging \u00a0the EPA with failing to adequately regulate neonicotinoid insecticide seed coatings used on dozens of crops throughout the U.S. The suit <a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/01\/epa-must-assess-the-indiscriminate-pollinator-poisoning-caused-by-neonicotinoids-imparted-to-plants-from-seeds-lawsuit-charges\/\">alleges<\/a> that EPA has illegally allowed millions of pounds of coated seeds to be planted annually on more than 150 million acres \u00a0nationwide, constituting a direct violation of the registration requirements established by \u00a0the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Vermont is the first state to take action to address the regulatory problems created by the treated article exemption.<\/p>\n<p>As mentioned above, H. 861 is designed to give the Secretary of Agriculture the ability to regulate neonicotinoid coated seeds based on the recommendations of a state Pollinator Protection Committee. The creation of this committee is dependent on the passage of another legislative measure, <a href=\"http:\/\/legislature.vermont.gov\/assets\/Documents\/2016\/Docs\/BILLS\/H-0539\/H-0539%20As%20Passed%20by%20the%20House%20Official.pdf\">H.539<\/a>, which would establish the Committee to \u201cevaluate the causes of reduced pollinator populations in the State\u201d and \u201crecommend measures the State can adopt to conserve and protect pollinator populations.\u201d While the creation of a Pollinator Protection Committee would be a positive undertaking by the state of Vermont, another piece of legislation currently being considered by the Senate would have a more immediate and long-lasting effect on pollinator populations within the state. <a href=\"http:\/\/legislature.vermont.gov\/assets\/Documents\/2016\/Docs\/BILLS\/S-0200\/S-0200%20As%20Introduced.pdf\">S.200<\/a> \u00a0will \u00a0ban the use, sale, or application of neonicotinoid pesticides in Vermont outright without waiting for a committee to confirm the <a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2015\/09\/study-finds-no-benefit-to-bee-toxic-neonic-use\/\">well-documented<\/a> scientific link between use of neonicotinoid pesticides and pollinator declines. S.200 currently awaits review by the Senate Agriculture Committee.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of whether Vermont decides to ban neonicotinoids or to establish a committee to explore the topic further, proactive State steps to address the issue of pollinator decline is critical in the absence of federal action. Beyond Pesticides has long advocated a regulatory approach \u00a0that prohibits high hazard chemical use and requires alternative assessments. Farm, beekeeper, and environmental groups, including Beyond Pesticides, have urged EPA to follow in the European Union\u2019s footsteps and suspend the huge numbers of other bee-harming pesticides already on the market. \u00a0We suggest an approach that rejects uses and exposures deemed acceptable under risk assessment calculations, and instead focuses on \u00a0safer alternatives that are proven effective, such as \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/organicfood\/index.php\">organic agriculture<\/a>, which prohibits the use of neonicotinoids. See how \u00a0you can \u00a0help through \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/pollinators\/index.php\">Bee Protective<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2016\/03\/21\/house-passes-bill-giving-state-authority-to-regulate-pesticides-used-to-treat-seeds-utility-poles\/\">VTDigger<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Beyond Pesticides March 23, 2016) Last week, the Vermont House of Representatives passed a bill that authorizes state \u00a0regulation of pesticide-treated products, \u00a0including \u00a0telephone poles and coated seeds, that are exempt from federal pesticide regulations. H.861 is the latest in a string of laws introduced this legislative session in Vermont to address the impact of harmful neonicotinoid insecticides \u00a0on Vermont\u2019s ecology and agriculture, and symbolizes a concentrated effort by the legislature to reverse pollinator declines within the state. If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, the bill will \u00a0allow the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate above and beyond current federal laws, which exempt treated articles from regulation completely, and write appropriate rules in response to recommendations from a state Pollinator Protection Committee. The bill, which passed with wide support in the House, gives the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets the authority to regulate \u201ctreated articles,\u201d a term coined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to denote products treated with pesticides, such as utility poles, commercial crop seeds, and lumber. Traditionally, EPA gives rulemaking authority over pesticides to states, but that authority does not extend to products pre-treated with pesticides, which, until this point, has posed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,21,312,5,62,328,19,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements","category-chemicals","category-contamination","category-genetic-engineering","category-litigation","category-neonicotinoids","category-statelocal","category-vermont"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of &quot;Treated Articles,&quot; such as Neonic-Coated Seeds - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of &quot;Treated Articles,&quot; such as Neonic-Coated Seeds - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides March 23, 2016) Last week, the Vermont House of Representatives passed a bill that authorizes state \u00a0regulation of pesticide-treated products, \u00a0including \u00a0telephone poles and coated seeds, that are exempt from federal pesticide regulations. H.861 is the latest in a string of laws introduced this legislative session in Vermont to address the impact of harmful neonicotinoid insecticides \u00a0on Vermont\u2019s ecology and agriculture, and symbolizes a concentrated effort by the legislature to reverse pollinator declines within the state. If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, the bill will \u00a0allow the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate above and beyond current federal laws, which exempt treated articles from regulation completely, and write appropriate rules in response to recommendations from a state Pollinator Protection Committee. The bill, which passed with wide support in the House, gives the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets the authority to regulate \u201ctreated articles,\u201d a term coined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to denote products treated with pesticides, such as utility poles, commercial crop seeds, and lumber. Traditionally, EPA gives rulemaking authority over pesticides to states, but that authority does not extend to products pre-treated with pesticides, which, until this point, has posed [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-23T04:00:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-03-23T13:16:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\"},\"headline\":\"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of &#8220;Treated Articles,&#8221; such as Neonic-Coated Seeds\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-23T04:00:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-23T13:16:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/\"},\"wordCount\":886,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Announcements\",\"Chemicals\",\"Contamination\",\"Genetic Engineering\",\"Litigation\",\"neonicotinoids\",\"State\/Local\",\"Vermont\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/\",\"name\":\"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of \\\"Treated Articles,\\\" such as Neonic-Coated Seeds - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-23T04:00:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-23T13:16:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of &#8220;Treated Articles,&#8221; such as Neonic-Coated Seeds\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"description\":\"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2501,\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"description\":\"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of \"Treated Articles,\" such as Neonic-Coated Seeds - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of \"Treated Articles,\" such as Neonic-Coated Seeds - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","og_description":"(Beyond Pesticides March 23, 2016) Last week, the Vermont House of Representatives passed a bill that authorizes state \u00a0regulation of pesticide-treated products, \u00a0including \u00a0telephone poles and coated seeds, that are exempt from federal pesticide regulations. H.861 is the latest in a string of laws introduced this legislative session in Vermont to address the impact of harmful neonicotinoid insecticides \u00a0on Vermont\u2019s ecology and agriculture, and symbolizes a concentrated effort by the legislature to reverse pollinator declines within the state. If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, the bill will \u00a0allow the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate above and beyond current federal laws, which exempt treated articles from regulation completely, and write appropriate rules in response to recommendations from a state Pollinator Protection Committee. The bill, which passed with wide support in the House, gives the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets the authority to regulate \u201ctreated articles,\u201d a term coined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to denote products treated with pesticides, such as utility poles, commercial crop seeds, and lumber. Traditionally, EPA gives rulemaking authority over pesticides to states, but that authority does not extend to products pre-treated with pesticides, which, until this point, has posed [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/","og_site_name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","article_published_time":"2016-03-23T04:00:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-03-23T13:16:24+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Beyond Pesticides","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_site":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beyond Pesticides","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/"},"author":{"name":"Beyond Pesticides","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4"},"headline":"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of &#8220;Treated Articles,&#8221; such as Neonic-Coated Seeds","datePublished":"2016-03-23T04:00:08+00:00","dateModified":"2016-03-23T13:16:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/"},"wordCount":886,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg","articleSection":["Announcements","Chemicals","Contamination","Genetic Engineering","Litigation","neonicotinoids","State\/Local","Vermont"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/","name":"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of \"Treated Articles,\" such as Neonic-Coated Seeds - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-23T04:00:08+00:00","dateModified":"2016-03-23T13:16:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Gary-Tate-Riverside-CA-Honey-Bee-taking-flight-Riverside-Ca-300x260-300x260.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/03\/vermont-house-takes-on-treated-article-exemption-gives-ag-secretary-ability-to-regulate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Vermont House Votes to Authorize State Regulation of &#8220;Treated Articles,&#8221; such as Neonic-Coated Seeds"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","description":"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization","name":"Beyond Pesticides","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2501,"caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4","name":"Beyond Pesticides","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"description":"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/"],"url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17733"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17740,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17733\/revisions\/17740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}