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Judge lifts ban on Monterey moth spraying; state to resume Wednesday
A Monterey County Superior Court judge lifted a ban on the aerial spraying of the light brown apple moth Friday after a test by a state chemist revealed that a potentially harmful chemical is not in the pesticide.
That, combined with the state Department of Food and Agriculture's promise to keep tabs on the health effects of residents in the aftermath of the spraying, led Judge Robert A. O'Farrell to lift the ban.
The judge's ruling means spraying for the moth will resume over the Monterey Peninsula on Wednesday and run through Saturday.
The judge grounded a trio of state-owned planes last week from spraying the peninsula, asking for more evidence on PPI, or polymethylene polyphenyl isocyanate. Helping Our Peninsula's Environment, which filed the request for the restraining order that temporarily halted spraying, believed PPI may have been responsible for causing respiratory illnesses among more than 100 residents of the Monterey Peninsula after the state sprayed CheckMate OLR-F in late September.
Part of the judge's ruling also requires the state to set up a hot line for health complaints, which would be forwarded to local county agricultural commissioners and investigated as warranted. A task force also would be created by the state to review all complaints.
In court Thursday, the state revealed that CheckMate LBAM-F, which will be sprayed over North Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in early November, is mostly water-based pheromones, which replicate the scent of a female moth. It also contains butylated hydroxytoluene, a food preservative.
"It's a small organic molecule that if people wanted to be paranoid about it, they'd say, 'it's toluene, it's part of gasoline, it's a suspect carcinogen.' And that's true about toluene, but this is a derivative of that," said Neal Langerman, a consultant for San Diego-based Advanced Chemical Safety, which advises companies on how to handle hazardous chemicals. "But those kinds of statements I hear all the time, and they're not true"
According to Langerman, the chemical is categorized by the Food and Drug Administration as "genuinely regarded as safe"
He said usually the food preservative is found in grain-based foods, such as cereal.
Suterra has refused to detail exactly what the pesticide contains, saying it is a trade secret.
David Dilworth, executive director of HOPE, said he will press on with the California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit the group filed on Sept. 24 on the basis that the state failed to conduct an environmental impact report. The state has said it was exempt from such a study because the situation was an emergency, but Dilworth said the emergency was made under false pretenses.
"It is hard to fault the judge because he was just following the law," said Dilworth. "Outrageously the law sets an impossibly high burden for the public. It requires the public to prove with certainty that the pesticides caused the illnesses"
The state, however, has contended that if the moth, with a voracious appetite of some 250 plant varieties, isn't stopped, California's agricultural industry could suffer more than $160 million in damages annually. The moth was first spotted in California in February. More than 6,000 have been trapped in Santa Cruz County.
The state also claims the pesticides, manufactured by the Bend, Ore.-based Suterra LLC, are safe and "practically nontoxic"
The judge's ruling does not bode well for those who are opposed to the aerial spraying in Santa Cruz County.
Mayor Emily Reilly and the Santa Cruz City Council have voted to try to fight the state in court, but so far nothing has been done.
City Attorney John Barisone is out of country for three weeks, although the city's legal counsel is looking into the matter, Reilly said.
Contact Tom Ragan at tragan [at] santacruzsentinel.com.
Light brown apple moth public hearings
Oct. 22
Cocoanut Grove Grand Ballroom, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz.
5-7 p.m.: Open house.
7-8 p.m.: Presentation.
8-10 p.m.: Public comment.
Oct. 23
University Inn and Conference Center, 611 Ocean St., Santa Cruz.
4:30-7:30 p.m.: Open house.
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Presentation.
8:30-11 p.m.: Public comment.
Light brown apple moth spraying
WHERE: Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Capitola, Live Oak, Soquel, Aptos, Las Lomas, Aromas, Prunedale and Salinas.
WHEN: 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Nov. 4-9.
Why: Control breeding of light brown apple moth.
COST: $2.7 million.
Information: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ea/downloads/lbam_ea_sc.pdf
HOT LINE: [800] 491-1899 ext. 0; e-mail: LBAM [at] cdfa.ca.gov; http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/LBAM
SOURCE: California Department of Agriculture
The judge's ruling means spraying for the moth will resume over the Monterey Peninsula on Wednesday and run through Saturday.
The judge grounded a trio of state-owned planes last week from spraying the peninsula, asking for more evidence on PPI, or polymethylene polyphenyl isocyanate. Helping Our Peninsula's Environment, which filed the request for the restraining order that temporarily halted spraying, believed PPI may have been responsible for causing respiratory illnesses among more than 100 residents of the Monterey Peninsula after the state sprayed CheckMate OLR-F in late September.
Part of the judge's ruling also requires the state to set up a hot line for health complaints, which would be forwarded to local county agricultural commissioners and investigated as warranted. A task force also would be created by the state to review all complaints.
In court Thursday, the state revealed that CheckMate LBAM-F, which will be sprayed over North Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in early November, is mostly water-based pheromones, which replicate the scent of a female moth. It also contains butylated hydroxytoluene, a food preservative.
"It's a small organic molecule that if people wanted to be paranoid about it, they'd say, 'it's toluene, it's part of gasoline, it's a suspect carcinogen.' And that's true about toluene, but this is a derivative of that," said Neal Langerman, a consultant for San Diego-based Advanced Chemical Safety, which advises companies on how to handle hazardous chemicals. "But those kinds of statements I hear all the time, and they're not true"
According to Langerman, the chemical is categorized by the Food and Drug Administration as "genuinely regarded as safe"
He said usually the food preservative is found in grain-based foods, such as cereal.
Suterra has refused to detail exactly what the pesticide contains, saying it is a trade secret.
David Dilworth, executive director of HOPE, said he will press on with the California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit the group filed on Sept. 24 on the basis that the state failed to conduct an environmental impact report. The state has said it was exempt from such a study because the situation was an emergency, but Dilworth said the emergency was made under false pretenses.
"It is hard to fault the judge because he was just following the law," said Dilworth. "Outrageously the law sets an impossibly high burden for the public. It requires the public to prove with certainty that the pesticides caused the illnesses"
The state, however, has contended that if the moth, with a voracious appetite of some 250 plant varieties, isn't stopped, California's agricultural industry could suffer more than $160 million in damages annually. The moth was first spotted in California in February. More than 6,000 have been trapped in Santa Cruz County.
The state also claims the pesticides, manufactured by the Bend, Ore.-based Suterra LLC, are safe and "practically nontoxic"
The judge's ruling does not bode well for those who are opposed to the aerial spraying in Santa Cruz County.
Mayor Emily Reilly and the Santa Cruz City Council have voted to try to fight the state in court, but so far nothing has been done.
City Attorney John Barisone is out of country for three weeks, although the city's legal counsel is looking into the matter, Reilly said.
Contact Tom Ragan at tragan [at] santacruzsentinel.com.
Light brown apple moth public hearings
Oct. 22
Cocoanut Grove Grand Ballroom, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz.
5-7 p.m.: Open house.
7-8 p.m.: Presentation.
8-10 p.m.: Public comment.
Oct. 23
University Inn and Conference Center, 611 Ocean St., Santa Cruz.
4:30-7:30 p.m.: Open house.
7:30-8:30 p.m.: Presentation.
8:30-11 p.m.: Public comment.
Light brown apple moth spraying
WHERE: Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Capitola, Live Oak, Soquel, Aptos, Las Lomas, Aromas, Prunedale and Salinas.
WHEN: 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Nov. 4-9.
Why: Control breeding of light brown apple moth.
COST: $2.7 million.
Information: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ea/downloads/lbam_ea_sc.pdf
HOT LINE: [800] 491-1899 ext. 0; e-mail: LBAM [at] cdfa.ca.gov; http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/LBAM
SOURCE: California Department of Agriculture
For more information:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2...
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