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A Dose of Sense: Bills Introduced to Reform Pesticide Policy Following Aerial Spraying for Light Brown Apple Moth

Traci Sheehan
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

In the fall of 2007, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) began a series of aerial pesticide applications in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties to control the spread of the invasive light brown apple moth. Following the sprayings, more than 600 reports of health problems emerged, including respiratory difficulties, eye irritation, dizziness, severe skin rashes and headaches, nausea and intestinal pain. Residents also reported deaths of birds, aquatic species, and otherwise healthy pets.

CDFA plans to expand its spraying to the San Francisco Bay Area this August and continue spraying three times per month until the moth is eradicated.

Blanket spraying contradicts environmentally responsible pest management practices, and infringes on California law that protects the environment and the public’s right to consent to spraying. Less toxic approaches include using naturally occurring predators, parasites, and insect diseases as well as stationary pheromone bait traps, allowing the ecosystem to respond to the pest, and cleaning up plant debris during dormancy.

In response to the proposed spraying, Senator Carol Migden has introduced Senate Committee Resolution 87, which would request that CDFA impose a moratorium on any aerial spraying that may be a part of the Department's eradication campaign of the light brown apple moth until it can demonstrate that the pheromone compound it intends to use is both safe to humans and effective at eradicating the light brown apple moth.

Several other bills have been introduced, including:

• AB 2760 (Leno), which would require an Environmental Impact Report when applying for the application of pesticide in an urban area;

• AB 2892 (Swanson), which would require holding an election to acquire the voters consent before pesticide application;

• AB 2763 (Laird), which would create a planning process on how to address non-native pest threats and requiring notification of the Governor, other governmental agencies and the public;

• AB 2764 (Hancock) which would not allow pesticide application for eradication without a proclaimed state of emergency; and

• AB 2765 (Huffman) would require public hearings, and a listing of every ingredient in the pesticide being sprayed.

Traci Sheehan is the Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League, a statewide, nonprofit lobbying organization. For more than thirty years, PCL has fought to develop a body of environmental laws in California that is the best in the United States. PCL staff review virtually every environmental bill that comes before the California Legislature each year. It has testified in support or opposition of thousands of bills to strengthen California's environmental laws and fight off rollbacks of environmental protections.

Posted on March 06, 2008

Comments

Everyone needs to get involved to make phone calls, write letters and emails to our elected officials, especially our California Governor. As a Santa Cruz resident, the aerial spraying fouled our creeks, water runoff, killed birds, and caused many people to seek emergency room treatment. There are potentially short and long term medical risks for all living things.

Posted by: bpm at March 9, 2008 01:44 AM

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