Environmental advocacy groups spent several years trying to get lawmakers to ban the use of certain neonicotinoids in Connecticut.
This year they say they finally scored a win.
Neonicotinoids, a type of insecticide that became commercially available in the mid-1990s, have been blamed by conservation groups and environmentalists for the sharp drop in insect and bird populations in North America.
“Ninety-six percent of terrestrial birds depend on insects, that's what they feed their babies, so the declines in insects are linked very much to the declines that we're seeing in bird populations,” said Louise Washer, co-founder of Pollinator Pathway, a nonprofit advocating for pesticide-free corridors of native plants.
Under new legislation signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont, the use of neonicotinoids will be banned on Connecticut lawns and golf courses beginning in October 2027, without special permission from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
If a request to use them is submitted to DEEP, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station will then determine if “no other effective control option is available.”
"We have over 300,000 acres of lawn, playing fields, and golf courses across Connecticut. So it's a huge use in Connecticut, which makes this a really important step forward, " said Washer, who advocated for the legislation.
Neonicotinoids can still be used on trees and ornamental shrubs and other agricultural uses.
While Washer calls the new regulation a win, she and other environmental advocates wanted wider-ranging restrictions.
Farmers relieved
Agriculture industry leaders in Connecticut were relieved the restrictions won’t impact them. They say the controversial insecticide plays an important role in fruit and produce production.
“We have to be able to have the products available to our producers to produce a quality crop that the public demands,” said Paul Larson, president of the Connecticut Farm Bureau Association.
Anyone in agriculture who uses neonicotinoids must be licensed every five years by the state, Larson said.
“You have to demonstrate you know how these pesticides work and you know how to protect yourself and protect the public and protect the environment,” Larson said. "You cannot spray any plant when any bees or other pollinator insects are active. So you can't spray it on plants that are in a flowering stage."
But Robert LaFrance, director of policy in Connecticut for the National Audubon Society, said following the product’s guidelines doesn’t prevent birds from being poisoned with neonicotinoids when the insects, plants and seeds they are eating are coated in the chemical.
“If ingested enough of it, it could have a toxic effect, and the bird will just die,” he said.
New York leads in agriculture restrictions
The National Audubon Society and Pollinator Pathways pushed for Connecticut lawmakers to follow New York’s lead when it comes to regulating neonicotinoid-coated seeds.
That state will partially ban the use of coated corn, soybean and wheat seeds beginning in 2029. It is the first state to take that step.
Washer, from Pollinator Pathway, said studies, like one from Cornell University in 2020, find that coated seeds don’t increase yields in certain crops, like corn.
But the Connecticut Farm Bureau Association argued coated seeds should remain an option for farmers.
“It greatly reduced the amount of pesticides that a farmer is putting out there and it provided protection for that seed in that early stage,” Larson said. “It's a very targeted application and that's a huge advantage over the older products, where you might have to spray four pounds of this product in an acre to provide the protection.”
“Nobody wants to put any burden on Connecticut farmers,” Washer said. “But is buying a treated seed that has a pesticide, that is not going to help you, and is going to get into your well water and kill all the insects that you need to pollinate around your farm, is that helping farmers?”
LaFrance believes once farmers have the chance to see how New York’s regulations may or may not impact crop yields, there might be more bipartisan buy-in for tougher neonicotinoid restrictions in Connecticut.
“I think what we did here was lay the foundation for those discussions into the future,” he said.
