The Montgomery County Council in Maryland is not backing down after a judge struck down the general pesticide ban that was set to go into effect next year.
The council announced that it will appeal a ruling by Judge Terrence McGann, who ruled this month that the ban on using certain pesticides on private lawns passed was preempted by state law. The council passed the ban in 2015.
McGann ruled that the state has a comprehensive system of regulating pesticides. It works in coordination with the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to regulate the products. The county ban would create confusion in the marketplace, McGann ruled.
“Our council’s legal team advised us that the county would have a reasonable chance of prevailing in an appeal of the circuit court’s decision,” Council President Roger Berliner said in a statement. “It is important that the council is allowed to protect our community from the threat posed by pesticides on private lawns.”
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