Lawmakers make last-minute changes to long-awaited ban on deadly chemicals: 'That's the deal we cut'

Connecticut lawmakers have advanced a bill that would partially ban a set of harmful chemicals commonly used in pesticides, but several last-minute changes to the legislation have drawn the ire of the bill's proponents.

According to CT Mirror, the state Senate passed a bill that would ban the use of long-acting rodenticides and a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids or neonics.

While the bill places strict restrictions on those compounds, an amendment passed with the bill allows for exemptions for the use of neonics and won't impose many of those restrictions until 2027. It also allows for the continued use of neonics on shrubs and ornamental plants, although it does ban their use on lawns. It also allows for neonics to be used by specially licensed professional organizations.

The change was negotiated by lobbyists for the pest control industry, according to Sen. Rick Lopes (D-New Britain).

"The industry's biggest concern is they said they were willing to help … if you give us a little time to acclimate and change our systems, we will be on board with this," said Lopes, who is co-chair of the Senate's Environment Committee. "That's the deal we cut with them."

However, the changes to the legislation drew the ire of many environmental groups. Neonics are systemic insecticides, meaning they are absorbed by and spread throughout plants and don't really discriminate between harmful pests and helpful pollinators like bees and butterflies. They've been strongly linked to the widespread deaths of pollinators, as well as being linked to negative effects on humans, like muscle tremors, lowered testosterone, altered insulin regulation, and changes to metabolism.

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Other places have been working to restrict pesticide use as well; Costa Rica has added multiple harmful compounds to a list of banned pesticides, while the EPA in the U.S. proposed a ban on certain pesticides being used on fruit.

Critics of the changes point out that continuing to spray bushes and ornamental plants will continue to harm pollinators, thereby defeating the purpose of the ban in the first place, but Lopes sees the deal as an acceptable compromise.

"We targeted, like we target for emissions sometimes, the largest and worst-damaging aspect of the chemical," Lopes said. "That should significantly decrease the amount of neonics exposed into our environment."

While critics were largely disappointed with only obtaining a partial ban of neonics, they were ultimately satisfied that their use would be restricted by the new bill.