Petition to Develop a Comprehensive Pesticide Data Program under the Maryland Agricultural Code

A coalition of organizations and experts is petitioning the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) to implement a mandatory pesticide data reporting system. They argue that MDA has failed to meet a statutory obligation dating back to 1989 to develop a comprehensive data program, relying instead on sporadic, voluntary surveys that undercount pesticide use and lack the detail necessary for scientific research. The petition highlights the severe risks pesticides pose to children, farmworkers, and the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, noting that climate change exacerbates these harms. The petitioners propose a system where certified applicators and restricted-use pesticide sellers submit annual records to a searchable public database, citing similar models in California and New York.

• Maryland law has required the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) to develop a comprehensive pesticide data program since 1989, yet the agency has failed to do so, instead conducting only sporadic, voluntary surveys.
• Existing MDA pesticide use surveys are scientifically inadequate because they have low response rates, lack detailed application data, and often fail to collect information explicitly required by state law.
• Pesticide use in Maryland disproportionately burdens communities lacking health insurance, with high usage reported in Wicomico and Washington counties, where 6.8% and 6.3% of the population respectively lack insurance.
• Pesticides cause significant harm to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with the insecticide chlorpyrifos found in 90% of water samples, and 40% of those samples exceeding safe ecosystem limits.
• Pesticides contribute to severe biodiversity loss in Maryland, including a nearly 50% loss of bee colonies between 2021 and 2022 and the death of hundreds of monarch butterflies in Queen Anne’s County in 2019.
• Farmworkers face extreme risks of pesticide poisoning, with an estimated 300,000 annual incidents nationwide, while Maryland reported at least 50 work-related pesticide illnesses in 2017.
• The petitioners propose a reporting system based on models in California and New York, which would require annual submissions of records that applicators are already legally required to maintain.
• Developing a searchable public database is estimated to cost between $250,000 and $350,000, with similar annual operating costs, which the petitioners argue is feasible given MDA's registration fee revenues.

APA

Earthjustice (2024). Petition to Develop a Comprehensive Pesticide Data Program under the Maryland Agricultural Code. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-16-pesticide-data-program-petition_final-redacted.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Petition to Develop a Comprehensive Pesticide Data Program under the Maryland Agricultural Code. 2024. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-16-pesticide-data-program-petition_final-redacted.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=Petition to Develop a Comprehensive Pesticide Data Program under the Maryland Agricultural Code |date=17 December 2024 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-16-pesticide-data-program-petition_final-redacted.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2024petition, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Petition to Develop a Comprehensive Pesticide Data Program under the Maryland Agricultural Code}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-16-pesticide-data-program-petition_final-redacted.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }