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PHARM division previews pesticide regulation changes, pollinator work and Eastern equine encephalitis surveillance
Summary
Steve Duenal, director of the Public Health and Agricultural Resource Management division, briefed the committee on regulation of agricultural inputs, pollinator and habitat work, online exam options and mosquito surveillance for Eastern equine encephalitis.
Steve Duenal (Steve Gwenll in transcript), director of the Public Health and Agricultural Resource Management (PHARM) division, briefed the committee on the division’s regulatory scope and priority projects.
Duenal said PHARM registers and inspects agricultural inputs including fertilizer, commercial feed, seed and pesticides; registers and inspects nurseries and ginseng harvesting; supports beekeepers; certifies pesticide applicators; and conducts mosquito and tick disease surveillance.
Why it matters: Duenal highlighted several near‑term initiatives. The division is implementing Act 182 (a recent state prohibition on use of certain treated seeds referenced in testimony), expanding online pesticide‑certification exam options (previously all exams were in person), and pursuing enforcement of online sales of regulated inputs to ensure materials sold into Vermont meet state requirements. He also said the division will work with the Department of Health on surveillance for Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in mosquitoes after a year with record detections; last year the state had two human cases and one human death linked to EEE.
Duenal said PHARM will continue pesticide surveillance in surface and ground water and coordinate with grower groups and registrants to respond to an EPA endangered‑species compliance strategy that may affect pesticide use. He invited the committee to request more detail on any of these areas.
Ending: Duenal offered to return with more information and to support committee questions about pesticide policy, pollinator habitat programs and disease surveillance.
