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Maui County parks officials are seeking an exemption from a ban on the use of pesticides and herbicides passed by the County Council three years ago.

The push for the exemption comes at the same time the county has been funding programs aimed at promoting reef-friendly alternatives, including organic products and landscaping methods.

Bill 131, which was heard by the council’s Agriculture, Diversification, Environment and Public Transportation Committee last week, specifically exempts county agricultural parks, county parks with grass playing fields and the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course from the ban on use of the chemicals.

Shane Dudoit, the deputy director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, said his staff has tried switching to organic methods of controlling weeds but so far nothing has worked. All the organic herbicides that kill weeds also destroy the grass, he said.

In a slide , Dudoit displayed photographs of test plots where the department applied organic products, showing brown spots with dead grass.

“If there was an organic product that just killed weeds, we would definitely use it,” Dudoit said in an interview Monday.

He also said that under county code, the director of parks and recreation has the right to manage and select a product that is safe and appropriate if no product on the approved list under the pesticide ban is suitable.

Council member Gabe Johnson, who chairs the ADEPT Committee, said getting the County Council to pass the pesticide ban was a heavy lift but ultimately it was adopted unanimously after much research and public testimony.

Johnson said the parks department “never took the bill seriously.” But Dudoit says that’s not the case.

Johnson has deferred action on for now.

Jill Wirt, program manager with , said in an interview it’s disappointing that instead of moving away from pesticides and herbicides, the county administration wants to continue the practice, especially since there have been many advances in organic landscaping methods.

Some resorts including the Four Seasons Resort Lanai, Honokeana Cove and Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows have won awards for using reef-friendly landscaping methods while nearly half a dozen others are in the process of getting certified in the use of organic products and techniques.

Wirt’s nonprofit organization offers hybrid and asynchronous courses in reef-friendly landscaping, which teach people how to use organic products and methods that don’t harm coral reefs.

She noted that Maui County has funded the development of the reef-friendly landscaping program, which she said makes its current push to use chemicals somewhat puzzling.

Since 2022, the county has given the nonprofit about $135,000, which supports the certification program and landscaping consultants, among other things, Wirt said in an email.

Runoff from pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and herbicides cause a variety of deleterious effects ranging from bleaching to photosynthesis inhibition to the feminization of organisms.

Many of those who support keeping the ban in place also cite health concerns with exposure to products like Roundup, a popular weed killer introduced by Monsanto Co. in the 1970s with an active ingredient called glyphosate.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer in humans. But it has been linked to an increase in cancer, endocrine disruption, celiac disease, autism and other disorders, according to

The International Agency for Research on Cancer says glyphosate is “probably” carcinogenic to humans.  

Still, there is support for the continued use of pesticides and herbicides.

Dudoit said he’s heard from many golfers and parents of kids who play at the various county ball fields. They like the weed-free grass for its smooth surface and want to keep it that way.

Amber DeLeon is among those who favor the continued use of herbicides, despite the potential health implications. She’s the mother of three boys who play baseball at public fields in Central Maui where without proper treatment, DeLeon said, the weeds can get so unruly they pose a safety hazard.

“Some of the weeds there are so sharp and prickly that they go through their socks and get stuck in their skin and I have to use a tweezer to pull them out. It got to the point where one of my sons was scared to go to practice because he didn’t want to weeds stuck in his skin,” DeLeon wrote in submitted testimony.

Civil Beat’s coverage of environmental issues on Maui is supported by grants from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the Hawaii Wildfires Recovery Fund, the Knight Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.