The Dept. of Health is in the process of crafting rules that regulate the spraying of pesticides in or near state waterways.

In 2009, a federal court ruled in National Cotton Council v. EPA, that pesticides must be regulated as pollutants under the Clean Water Act. Companies such as Alexander & Baldwin and Monsanto will now have to obtain Clean Water Act permits.

The public has until 4:30 on Monday to submit comments on the rules, which can be emailed to:  CleanWaterBranch@doh.hawaii.gov with subject line: Docket No. R-1-12.

A copy of the rules can be found here.