The Portland City Council voted not to amend the City's pesticide ordinance on Monday, March 3. Several amendments to the ordinance will be taken up in the Sustainability Committee in the future.
Cheverus High School sought a waiver from the city of Portland to use Acelepryn on its athletic fields in May, after school officials said organic methods failed.
Avery Yale Kamila of the group Portland Protectors said the amendment would allow any athletic field in Portland to use the chemical that federal regulators warn is toxic to marine life and pollinators, contaminates soil and can pollute nearby water.
"It would be an exemption where anybody with a sports field can take advantage of. This opens it up for every field where children play can have synthetic pesticides on them. This is going backward from what Portland residents wanted," Kamila said.
At a public hearing on the measure in February, two councilors on the Sustainability Committee said they were troubled by the indefinite use of Acelepryn at any Portland athletic field. They also voiced concerns about how the chemical would be applied.
The panel voted 2 to 1 against the amendment, but the City Council had the final say on the change.
A Cheverus High School spokesman said the school has received approval from the City of Portland for the installation of artificial turf, and that approval expires in November.