The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Friday that individual counties in Hawaii may not ban genetically engineered crops and pesticides [JURIST backgrounder]. At issue for the court in this multi-year battle was whether there was legal authority to allow Kauai County’s Ordinance 960 [official summary] to require notification of pesticide use as well as mandate buffer zones for individuals and corporations. The ordinance was a result of residents claiming to suffer various symptoms due to the pesticides as well a finding of pesticides detected at low levels in the air at a local middle school. The court held that the Hawaii Pesticides Law [official summary] was intended by the legislature to create a uniform and exclusive pesticide bill that preempts the county code.

In sum, we find that the Hawaii Pesticides Law comprehensively regulates pesticides and creates a clear inference of legislative intent to preempt local regulations of pesticides. Accordingly, applying Hawaii’s comprehensive statutory scheme test, we hold that Ordinance 960’s pesticide provisions are impliedly preempted by Hawaii law and beyond the County’s power.

The court noted the county may work with the legislature and others government bodies to address their concerns.

The debate centered on genetic modifications continues. US President Barack Obama signed Senate Bill No. 764 into law in July, which requires labeling [JURIST report] of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products under a single national standard. Environmental groups filed [JURIST report] a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March challenging the FDA’s authority to approve genetically modified animals for use as food. In September of last year the Lyon Appeals Court in France upheld [JURIST report] a 2012 ruling in which the agricultural company Monsanto was found guilty of chemical poisoning of French farmer Paul François. The European Parliament last year approved legislation [JURIST report] that gives governments increased power in deciding whether to “restrict or ban the cultivation of” GMOs.