NR – FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS NEARLY $400,000 TO HAWAIʻI FOR PESTICIDE ENFORCEMENT

STATE OF HAWAIʻI

KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

JOSH GREEN, M.D.

GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND BIOSECURITY

ʻOIHANA MAHIʻAI A KIAʻI MEAOLA

SHARON HURD

CHAIRPERSON

KA LUNA HOʻOKELE

DEAN M. MATSUKAWA

DEPUTY TO THE CHAIRPERSON

KA HOPE LUNA HOʻOKELE

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS NEARLY $400,000 TO HAWAIʻI FOR PESTICIDE ENFORCEMENT

Grant could Amount to Nearly $1.3 Million Over Next Three Years

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 22, 2026

HONOLULU - The Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB) Pesticides Branch (PEST) was awarded $382,325 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for fiscal year 2027, which runs through the end of September, 2027.

The federal grant money is in support of compliance and enforcement activities relating to pesticides. If federal funding is available for the next two fiscal years, the grant could total $1,244,823.

The money can be used in a variety of ways such as for personnel, equipment and supplies. PEST plans to use this year's funding to support three positions (two inspectors, one chemist).

PEST is tasked with enforcing federal and state pesticide regulations. This involves conducting investigations to determine whether pesticides are being sold or used illegally, as well as providing educational outreach about pesticide safety for all residents, organizations and businesses in Hawaiʻi. "This funding is pivotal in our mission to ensure pesticides are used in a safe, responsible manner across the state," said Esther Riechert, Pesticides Branch Manager.

This is not the first such award for PEST, which has received similar grants of differing amounts in its cooperative agreement with the EPA since 1974.

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