The recent unanimous jury decision concluding DuPont Pioneer was guilty of causing harm to a small community on Kauai’s west side is a clear victory.

It has taken years for Waimea residents to finally hold DuPont Pioneer accountable, but unfortunately, this fight is far from over.

According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s May 9 article: "The verdict said DuPont Pioneer failed to follow generally accepted agricultural and management practices from Dec. 13, 2009, to Dec. 31, 2011, and that the ‘seriousness of the harm to each plaintiff outweighs the public benefit of Pioneer’s farming operation.’"

The court action focused on property damage caused by the vast amounts of pesticide-laden dust that has blown on to these homes and residents for years. However, if the dust is bad enough to cause property damage, then it surely must be causing damage also to health and environment.

To be clear, this lawsuit is only tangentially related to the Syngenta-led lawsuit against the County of Kauai now under appeal in federal court. But the existence of the DuPont Pioneer lawsuit was early evidence that when combined with many other factors, they precipitated and justified the introduction of Bill 2491 and the attempt to regulate this industry on Kauai.

Credit for this huge victory goes entirely to the perseverance of Waimea Town residents.

The facade presented through the "Kauai Good Neighbor" persona created by the community relations and media gurus of these companies is quickly evaporating.

No amount of money or industry PR can erase the fact that a unanimous jury decision found them guilty of harm.

The curtain is being drawn back for the whole world to now see the hypocrisy of DuPont Pioneer calling itself a "good neighbor" while continuing to cause damage to local residents for years after the initial complaints were filed.

Meanwhile, another self-proclaimed "good neighbor," Syngenta, continues to use and sell on Kauai, and throughout all Hawaii, highly toxic restricted-use pesticides (atrazine, paraquat and four others) that are illegal to use in its own country.

What kind of good neighbor uses toxic pesticides by the ton in their neighbor’s yard, yet uses zero of these chemicals in its own yard back home in Switzerland because laws there will not allow it (all the while telling you how safe it is)?

Syngenta will deny and obfuscate this fact, but it is the truth. Read the Feb. 23 New York Times article by Dan Hakim entitled "A Pesticide Banned, or Not, Underscores Trans-Atlantic Trade Sensitivities," about how Syngenta misrepresents the truth with regards to the use of atrazine in its own country.

What kind of good neighbors sue their local government for merely requiring modest disclosure and basic buffer zones around schools, hospitals and homes?

It will be interesting to see how the industry spins this one.

These companies are harming our community. They consistently misrepresent themselves, the nature of their actions and the negative impact of their actions on our health, environment and yes, on our property as well.

Community members who live near the fields and have to deal with these companies up close know this. Those of us who have been involved in this battle for the past few years know it as well.

I am increasingly hopeful that more residents of Kauai and all Hawaii will begin to see and understand the nature and urgency of our efforts and join us in demanding accountability.

Mahalo to those residents and community leaders who have persevered and are responsible for this win. Auwe to those government and industry leaders who have failed in their duties to support these good people.

Gary Hooser is a Kauai county councilman.