Overview
- Meten=Weten sent formal handhavingsverzoeken to the municipalities of Coevorden, Midden-Drenthe, De Wolden and Assen, adding to earlier requests in Westerveld and Noordenveld and forcing local review of pesticide use near homes.
- A handhavingsverzoek asks a municipality to check for legal breaches under its duty of care and to consider measures; Meten=Weten is asking for steps such as bans on PFAS-containing products and spray-free buffer zones around residences.
- The Province of Drenthe has ordered four lily growers not to use five specified substances within 250 metres of Natura 2000 sites and limited enforcement to 36 hectares, with fines of €25,000 per hectare for violations.
- Local responses vary: a judge required Westerveld to do more research before enforcing, Noordenveld plans to reject the request, and Meten=Weten is weighing legal appeal of the provincial decision.
- State Secretary Silvio Erkens is preparing a national pesticide agreement guided by Gert-Jan Segers that aims to cut use in coming years and could change how municipalities and courts handle these enforcement demands.