-
Apr 24, 2008 6:16 pm US/Pacific
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Judge Halts Moth Spraying; Schwarzenegger Agrees
SANTA CRUZ (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
A California judge dealt a major setback to the state's campaign against the invasive light brown apple moth on Thursday, ruling that aerial pesticide sprays must halt over Santa Cruz County until agricultural officials do a full environmental review of their anti-pest program.
On the heels of the court ruling, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger said the state would suspend all aerial sprays across the state until a battery of health tests are completed on the chemical agent used in the spraying.
"I am confident that the additional tests will reassure Californians that we are taking the safest, most progressive approach to ridding our state of this very real threat to our agriculture, environment and economy," Schwarzenegger said after a meeting with lawmakers and environmentalists.
The governor said spraying would not resume earlier than Aug. 17, which is more than two months after the Santa Cruz area was scheduled to be dusted with a fine chemical mist.
But Santa Cruz County spokeswoman Dinah Phillips said local officials believe the judge's ruling could actually keep planes from spraying for the moth for up to a year, while the state completes the court-required tests.
Despite Schwarzenegger's announcement about a spraying halt, state Secretary of Food and Agriculture A.G. Kawamura vowed the state would appeal the ruling immediately. He said the decision was delaying "the safest, most progressive eradication program available."
Hundreds of people complained of feeling sick when planes applied the first round of spray along the central coast last fall. State environmental health experts recently said those reported illnesses can't conclusively be tied to the pest eradication efforts.
Soon after the sprays, the County and City of Santa Cruz filed suit against the state, saying Kawamura broke state law by authorizing the aerial spary campaign without the benefit of environmental review. Environmentalists filed a similar suit in Monterey County Superior Court, which is scheduled to be heard May 8.
Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick ruled the state had not proved the moth infestation constituted an emergency, a category that would have allowed authorities to avoid the lengthy state review process.
Dozens of Santa Cruz residents who packed Burdick's courtroom on Thursday applauded his ruling.
"When the judge announced his decision, a tremendous cheer was raised," Phillips said. "I can still see dozens of people outside my window giving each other high fives."
Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Ellen Pirie said she was "very pleased that Judge Burdick agreed with the county and the city. The environmental impacts of this spraying need to be fully evaluated and reviewed prior to further spraying over our homes and neighborhoods."
State Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who has written two bills critical of the spray program, said he hoped the ruling would "make way for additional science-based, independent third-party review" of the state's plans.
While Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said the agency believes Burdick's decision only
affected the state's plans in Santa Cruz County, a Schwarzenegger aide told CBS 5 that it would impact aerial treatment programs in
other counties.
The governor's office said the testing delay would change the timetable to send up of planes to drop a fine chemical mist on the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally set for this summer, a spokesman said the Bay Area spraying could be delayed until October.
Bay Area leaders had watched the Santa Cruz case closely. Seven Bay Area cities have filed or will soon file lawsuits to stop the planned spraying in their communities this summer for the moth.
The governor's office said it would comply with the Santa Cruz judge's ruling unless it is overruled by an appealate court.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture said their agency would wait until the state's appeal has been resolved before considering whether federal officials should go ahead with the spray campaign, regardless. The USDA said the dime-sized Australian moth threatens to destroy hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of valuable crops.
USDA officials have also agreed to forward the results of the acute toxicological tests to the Environmental Protection Agency for further review, said U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif.
"Keeping our families safe during any eradication is my number one concern," said Farr, who has requested a follow-up meeting with the EPA. "I support getting rid of this moth, but not at the expense of our health."
The Sierra Club applauded the governor's decision to postpone the aerial campaign, but went a step further, calling for the state to obtain the "informed consent of the residents affected by the spraying."
Elsewhere Thursday,
Sonoma County officials said they recorded a second light brown apple moth finding since the invasive pest was first detected in the heavily agricultural county in February.
Officials there said they don't have any immediate plans for aerial spraying, and instead would continue their ground-based campaign.
The light brown apple moth, a native of Australia, has been found in New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom and in the U.S. Classified as invasive, it is known to damage or destroy more than 250 species of plants, including most fruit trees and many species of ornamental plants, as well as oak trees, pine trees and redwoods. It was first discovered in California in Berkeley in February 2007.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)