The required shift to organic fertilizer, and subsequent use of manure, spurred recent complaints. When something goes awry at Maui’s 18-hole municipal golf course, players complain to Art Rego in the pro shop. Over three days in May, Rego said he was bombarded by grievances over an odor so foul that some players walked off the course.
The source of the stench? Organic fertilizer. The odor emanated from the putting green, where the county Department of Parks and Recreation has been testing organic fertilizer and herbicide alternatives to the chemical-based products that have historically been used in public lands management. “They’re not happy,” said Rego, who’s worked at the county-owned Waiehu Municipal Golf Course for more than 30 years.
“Some guys said they had a headache. Some have mentioned even that they might go to another course.” On Friday, the Maui County Council will consider a bill to repeal the county’s three-year-old organic pesticide and fertilizer ordinance in its entirety.
Driven by community concern over perceived negative health impacts of synthetic pesticide use on fields where children play and where runoff makes its way to nearshore waters teeming with marine wildlife, the council passed the 2021 legislation unanimously. Council Chairwoman Alice Lee, who sponsored the bill that would repeal the relatively new ordinance, said she voted in favor of the 2021 law that prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers on county proper.
