Monsanto pleads guilty to illegal pesticide use in Hawaii

 Agrochemicals company Monsanto is pleading guilty to spraying a banned pesticide on its Maui fields in 2014.

Monsanto, now owned by the pharmaceutical company Bayer, is also agreeing to pay $10 million in an agreement over charges it unlawfully stored acute hazardous waste. The money includes a $6 million criminal fine and $4 million in community service payments.

Prosecutors have agreed not to prosecute Monsanto if it abides by the agreement, which requires the company comply with U.S. environmental laws.

U.S. attorneys in Los Angeles announced the guilty plea and the deferred prosecution agreement Thursday. U.S. attorneys in Honolulu were recused from the case.

Bayer said in a statement that it didn’t live up to its own standards or the applicable laws. It says it accepts full responsibility for its actions.