CDFA Releases Final LBAM EIR - Aerial Spray Still Included

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CDFA Releases Final LBAM EIR - Aerial Spray Still Included

Dear Friends,

1. State Releases Final LBAM Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Aerial Spray Still Included, Very Little Change In Program
2. Raising Funds For Our Lawsuit To Challenge The EIR & Stop The Program
3. Action Alert: Two Appeals To U.S. EPA To Increase Pesticide Protection For Children

Details below and thank you for your continuing support.
-- Stop The Spray

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1. State Releases Final LBAM Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Aerial Spray Still Included, Very Little Change In Program

The state quietly released portions of the long-awaited Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the light brown moth last week to select public agencies. Highlights of the final report include:

* The LBAM Program is set to resume Spring 2010.

* Large populated areas of several counties, including Marin, Sonoma, Monterey, and Santa Cruz are potential aerial spray zones.

The state considers any area where the population is fewer than 100 people per square mile to be a possible aerial spray zone. Most of West Marin is included, almost all of Monterey county, and large areas of Sonoma and Santa Cruz counties. There do not appear to be any aerial spray zones in San Francisco, and the area marked in northeastern Alameda county is small.

* The two main changes to the program are the removal of permethrin SPLAT because of cancer risk, and compliance with what the report suggests is a temporary prohibition by the State Department of Pesticide Regulation on using the LBAM pheromone pesticides at schools. The report is ambiguous regarding whether other treatments will be used at schools.

Much of the general response to comments chapter, including some of the county maps that show the aerial spray zones. It is the first item at the top of the page under Breaking News. The document is missing a number of pages in the middle. You can download the document below.

Final LBAM EIR Document (Portion):
http://www.eastbay.stopthespray.org/Eas ... NALCH2.pdf

Although the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and City of Albany have requested that the state take public comment on the final EIR, the state is not legally required to do so and could approve the program to start in just over a month.

Despite the many comments the state received, and the scientific publications over the past several months that show that the LBAM program is simply not necessary, the state is proceeding largely as previously planned, with:

* aerial and ground sprays
* twist ties
* mass releases of wasps and irradiated male moths

They offer no new science to support their conclusions about LBAM's risk or the feasibility of eradication other than their claim that DNA testing confirmed that LBAM larvae were present in the 3 blackberry fields where there was leafroller moth damage last summer. Many of the "references" in the new document are cited as "personal observations" of the LBAM Program Director Robert Dowell rather than scientific reports.

The final EIR consists of the draft EIR released last summer with the addition of all the comments received on the draft, and the state's responses to those comments. Not all of the state's responses have been released yet. The information will be posted as soon as it is available on the CDFA website, likely next week, which will also be posted on this forum.

Earthjustice's 9/28/09 Response To Draft LBAM EIR:
http://www.eastbay.stopthespray.org/Eas ... its%29.pdf

Volker Law Firm 9/28/09 Response To Draft LBAM EIR:
http://www.eastbay.stopthespray.org/Eas ... 20LBAM.pdf

2. Raising Funds For Our Lawsuit To Challenge The EIR & Stop The Program

Although our representing attorneys, Earthjustice, do not charge to represent us, there are court and other costs associated with a lawsuit. Any amount you can give to this effort will be much appreciated.

To donate please send contributions to:

Pesticide Watch Education Fund
1107 9th St. Suite 601
Sacramento CA 95814

Note on the check that the donation is for 'Stop the Spray East Bay Legal Fund'.

Earthjustice has already prepared the case and submitted the relevant materials, so all that remains is to file the suit at the appropriate time.

3. Action Alert: Two Appeals To U.S. EPA To Increase Pesticide Protection For Children

Urge the U.S. EPA to ban the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos from agricultural use (it is already banned for home use), and protect children living in agricultural areas:

http://action.panna.org/p/dia/action/pu ... n_KEY=2268

Urge the U.S. EPA to enact stronger buffer zones to protect children from pesticide drift:

http://action.panna.org/p/dia/action/pu ... n_KEY=2270

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For Immediate Release February 25, 2010

New State Apple Moth Environmental Report: Aerial Spray Still An Option in Populated Areas

Ground spray possible throughout most of California - Few changes in program despite public opposition and mounting scientific evidence that it is unnecessary

A recently released portion of the long-awaited light brown apple moth (LBAM) Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) confirms that aerial pesticide spraying over populated areas, including large portions of Marin, Sonoma, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties, is still an option in the arsenal of chemical and other methods that the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) plans to use across the state against a yet-to-be-proven threat to California agriculture.

Thousands of Bay Area residents, numerous city councils, and other organizations fought CDFA for nearly two years to prevent further human and environmental exposure after CDFA aerially sprayed a pheromone pesticide over Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in 2007. Hundreds of illnesses were reported after the spray. Regarding those illnesses, the newly released EIR reiterates the conclusion of a prior state report that the state “cannot rule out the possibility that pheromone exposure caused these symptoms in some individuals.”

The excerpts from the Final EIR’s “Response to Comments” sections, released to select agencies last week, state that CDFA considers any area where fewer than 100 people live per square mile to be “essentially unpopulated” and therefore a potential aerial spray zone.

Other treatments ranging from ground pesticide spraying to releases of millions of native wasps and irradiated male moths are planned for “anywhere an LBAM infestation is determined to exist,” apparently including the possible use of some non-pheromone-based sprays at schools.

The newly released document says that the apple moth program is planned to continue for 7 years with no way to predict in advance where treatments will be conducted.

The full EIR is expected to be released next week, according to CDFA spokespersons. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that CDFA plans to give final approval to the EIR on March 4. Apple moth treatments could legally begin 30 days after the report is approved.

Reaction to the EIR has been swift. “What kind of public process is this, where the report is selectively released, and the state plans to approve it in 10 days with no further input?” asked Albany City Council Member Robert Lieber. Albany, along with many other cities and individuals and at least two law firms, submitted extensive comments on the draft EIR that criticized the report’s inadequacies.

The aerial spray pesticide currently planned for use in the program contains the same active ingredients as the Monterey and Santa Cruz spray, this time packaged in 1/8-inch-diameter flakes that the draft EIR last summer said were plastic; the newly released report says the flakes are not plastic but are a “polymeric controlled released flake with the pheromone contained between two outer layers of starch-based polymer.”

The new report dismisses concerns that children and animals could eat the flakes, saying that “even if quantities of Hercon Bio-Flake were ingested, the material is expected to be readily digested and eliminated with no adverse effects on the individual.” The new report also declines to identify the so-called inert ingredients in the pesticides to be used in the program, citing “trade secret” laws. The inert ingredients in the 2007 spray have been alleged to have caused a large seabird die-off; state tests of the dead birds did not investigate the inert ingredients.

The National Academy of Sciences last fall released a report criticizing the apple moth program for lack of robust science and recommending that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “may be well advised to reconsider the available alternatives” to an eradication program.

“Like the rest of the LBAM program, this EIR is not based on science. Peer-reviewed scientific studies released during the past year confirm that LBAM is a minor pest elsewhere, unlikely to spread here as CDFA has predicted, and easily controlled if necessary by low-impact methods in agriculture. The science supports the conclusion that we do not need this expensive, statewide program of chemical and other treatments in residential neighborhoods,” said Nan Wishner of Stop the Spray East Bay.

Recent scientific reports that have undermined the rationale for the LBAM program include one by a UC Davis pest management advisor and a team of New Zealand scientists, (“New Zealand lessons may aid efforts to control light brown apple moth in California”), which concludes that LBAM is a minor pest that does little damage and is controlled mainly by natural predators in New Zealand where the moth has resided for more than 100 years.

Another by UC Berkeley professors Andrew Gutierrez et al. concludes that LBAM’s “likely ecological and economic impacts would be less than previously assessed by the USDA and that its current pest status warrants re-evaluation.” Two petitions to reclassify LBAM to a non-quarantinable pest status were submitted to USDA last year; USDA has not given a final response to those petitions.

The newly released portion of the EIR reveals few changes in the program despite the voluminous public comment on the draft EIR last summer. The main changes are: the state has withdrawn the use of one potentially carcinogenic pesticide, permethrin, from the program, and the state will abide by Department of Pesticide Regulations that currently prohibit use at schools of the largely untested LBAM pheromone pesticides.

The newly released EIR repeats the draft EIR’s assertion that LBAM populations are spreading and growing even though the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) National Research Council concluded last fall that “the statement that the recent trapping data from infested areas show a progressively increasing population is misleading,” and “the survey and trapping regimen used in California before 2007 was probably inadequate to determine the presence or absence of LBAM.” The NAS report catalogs many other deficiencies in the LBAM program.

The newly released EIR also states that DNA testing confirmed that LBAM was present in three berry fields in Watsonville that sustained some insect-related damage last summer. However, CDFA’s most recent report to the state legislature suggests that DNA testing is currently inadequate, noting that research is needed to develop “an effective DNA fingerprint and identification technology for LBAM.” The degree and cause of damage in the three berry fields has been controversial; it is the only damage allegedly attributable to LBAM in the state since LBAM was first intercepted at a California port of entry in 1984.

The Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to ask state Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura to hold public hearings on the final EIR in all communities affected by the LBAM program before the EIR is certified. The supervisors will also ask their state representatives to assist them in ensuring that public concerns about the apple moth program are addressed.

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Final LBAM PEIR: Dates, Process & Issues

CDFA uses classic bait and switch. They tell us there are no plans to aerial spray to pacify the people yet they admit at any time they can switch their plans and choose aerial spray! The Final LBAM EIR was releasaed February 17, 2010 and can be certified as soon as March 4, 2010.

Audio - 2/26/10 - CDFA Announcing Their Final LBAM PEIR Dates & Process (8 minutes):
http://www.lbamspray.com/00_Audios_Vide ... seCall.mp3

CDFA's Final LBAM Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR):
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PDEP/lbam/ ... ctrpt.html

State Efforts To Control Light Brown Apple Moth Program Could Resume In March

2/26/10 - The state's controversial battle against the pesky light brown apple moth will resume as early as next month, but will likely not involve spraying, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said Friday.

The announcement came with the release of the state's court-ordered report on its apple moth control program, a 1,400-page document that prioritizes less controversial tactics for dealing with the agricultural pest.

The state eradication effort, which gained widespread visibility when aerial spraying began over the Monterey Bay Area two years ago, has drawn safety concerns from the public. In response to lawsuits, state officials have since halted the program and offered more detailed reports on their strategy, including Friday's final environmental impact report.

David Dilworth, who led a legal battle for more information, said he's pleased to hear there's no longer immediate plans to spray.

"That sounds like a good start," said Dilworth, a member of Carmel-based HOPE, or Helping Our Peninsula's Environment. "But the trouble is that the Department of Agriculture has taught us not to trust them."

The state's program, says the department's acting director of the Division of Plant Health Robert Leavitt, does not entirely rule out spraying.

"That's an alternative. It's not part of our operational plan," he said Friday during a telephone briefing for reporters.

The "preferred alternatives" for controlling the moth, Leavitt says, are putting pheromone-laced twist ties on trees and releasing sterile moths, both of which throw off mating cycles. The less preferred option of spraying involves the aerial release of pheromones, which similarly disrupts reproduction.

Opposition group Stop the Spray East Bay was quick to express concerns Friday. The state's latest report, the group said, does nothing more to limit the areas that can be sprayed, suggesting that places with up to a 100 people per square mile were still subject to the aerial treatments, but shouldn't be.

The light brown apple moth has been found in a dozen counties, with the greatest populations in Santa Cruz and San Francisco counties.

State agricultural officials fear that without a control program, the moth will be a major problem for growers.

Some, including Santa Cruz County Supervisor Neal Coonerty, believe the threat of the moth has been overstated.

"It's really unfortunate that they keep pushing this unnecessary activity on the citizens of Santa Cruz County and across California," Coonerty said Friday.

Earlier this week, the county's Board of Supervisors penned a letter to the state requesting public hearings on the new report.

Leavitt said Friday, however, that California law does not mandate any further hearings. The final environmental impact report, he said, was being reviewed by the state's secretary of agriculture and could be certified as soon as March 4.

The control program would commence at that point, he said.

News article:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14479408

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Final LBAM EIR Highlights

Dear Friends,

A few highlights from the Final LBAM EIR document:

* In chapter 2, take a look at the maps at the end where red cross hatching denotes potential aerial spray areas. Most of western Marin and Eastern Contra Costa and Alameda counties are included, including what appears to be Tilden Park and the East Bay hills.

* In chapter 3, read the brief section on pages 3-35 and 3-36 where the state makes clear it would use warrants and law enforcement to force treatments of private property if landowners refuse

* In chapter 2, read the paragraph on pages 2-44 regarding the "polymer flakes" that would be aerially sprayed, which dismisses concerns that children and animals could eat the flakes, saying that “even if quantities of Hercon Bio-Flake were ingested, the material is expected to be readily digested and eliminated with no adverse effects on the individual.”

Telephone Press Conference Transcript - Special Notes

Below is the transcript of the telephone press conference for public officials at which the California Dept. of Food and Agriculture announced the EIR's release. Note the ambiguity in the comments about the possibility of future aerial spray:

"As far as aerial release of pheromone, the program has no plans to do it at this time, and there will be an operational plan posted to our website after the EIR is certified. As the program reevaluates its position, its potential to use aerial pheromone is still there but I don’t think that I foresee that at the current time."

Legal Fund

If you can, please donate to our legal fund. Any amount you can give to this effort will be much appreciated. To donate please send contributions to:

Pesticide Watch Education Fund
1107 9th St. Suite 601
Sacramento CA 95814

Note on the check that the donation is for 'Stop the Spray East Bay Legal Fund'

Santa Cruz Board Of Supervisors

The Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors sent a letter to the state asking that certification of the EIR be delayed and public hearings held.

CDFA 2/27/10 Tele-Press Conference On Light Brown Apple Moth Final EIR - Transcript

Operator: I would like to turn the meeting over to Mr. David Pegos so you may begin.

Pegos: This call is taking place at CDFA Headquarters in Sacramento, California. Shortly you will be hearing from Dr. Robert Leavitt, Acting Director of Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services within California Dept. of Food and Agriculture. Today we will be discussing the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Light Brown Apple Moth. This will be a listen only call followed by Q&A. Dr. Robert Leavitt.

Leavitt: Good morning and thank you for joining the call and thank you for your interest in the light brown apple moth program and its Programmatic Environmental Impact Report. As you know, the Department of Food and Agriculture has posted on its website some time ago Volumes 1 and 2, that is the Proposed Project and the Environmental Evaluation of the Proposed Project. After that we had a public comment period and a series of public meetings to take comments from the public in regards to the proposed project and our analysis. We’ve received over 1,000 comments. After that, the department convened the panel of experts including experts from Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Department of Fish and Game, the Department of Public Health, and our consultant Entrix Corporation, who prepared responses to the comments. The responses exceed 1,400 pages of text, and we then sent responses to public agencies last Thursday and Friday to the specific comments that the public agencies gave to us, and they have a 10-day period to evaluate those responses.

The next steps are: Later this afternoon about 2:30 the entire 1,400 pages of comments and our responses will be uploaded to the CDFA website in a downloadable form that you can then look at. There will be a news release also later today about 3PM in regards to the comments on the light brown apple moth program. The next step then, Secretary Kawamura has the document, and he will study it and certify it when he is prepared to do so but not before March 4th because of the 10-day comment period for the public agencies. After that, the CDFA will post a Notice of Determination with the State Office of Planning and Research, and that notice will stay posted for 30 days. During that period and after, the light brown apple moth program will review its status and decide on future plans, based on survey data and sound science.

At this time, I expect the program will decide to continue with twist ties in outlying infestations, to continue to develop the sterile insect technique, and to continue research and development for bio-control agents for the light brown apple moth. I do not expect there to be any aerial pheromone releases at this time. Again, no aerial pheromone releases are planned at this time. I do want to stress that the Programmatic Environmental Impact Report did study several alternatives for the eradication and control of the light brown apple moth, and the program can choose from those alternatives for either eradication or control. And, with that, I turn this back to David Pegos.

Pegos: Great, thank you Dr. Leavitt. Operator, I think we’re ready for some questions now.

Operator: (Explains how to ask questions using phone keypad)

Question: Jacqueline Bucholz, City of Albany

Yes, I would like to know, I understand the public comment period, but do you happen to know the date you plan on certifying the EIR?

Leavitt: Uh, yes ma’am, the Secretary of Agriculture will be studying the document, and he will certify it when he’s ready to do so. He can’t do that before March 4th because public agencies have a 10-day period in which they can look at their responses to their individual comments. We sent those out last week. Most agencies got them on Thursday or Friday and I believe one agency got them on Monday morning so the earliest it could be done is March 4th, but of course the secretary can evaluate the document as long as he pleases before he makes his decision.

Ms. Bucholz: Thank you.

Pegos: Thank you for the question. Next question please.

Lori Cioffi, on behalf of Santa Cruz Councilmember Tony Madrigal:

Hi, so what I wanted to ask and wanted to get clarification on is if and when the EIR gets certified and passes, you had said that there is no proposed aerial pheromone release at this time, but what grounds do you have to change that plan and if and when it gets certified at a later date, in months or next year, can you insert an aerial release for pheromones?

Pegos: At the current time the program will evaluate its status depending on the trapping numbers and the sound science. At the current time I expect the program to decide to continue with twist ties as I said, sterile insect technique, and bio-control agents. The sterile insect technique is there to break the reproductive cycle of the light brown apple moth and the sterile moths can be released by air or by ground. As far as aerial release of pheromone, the program has no plans to do it at this time, and there will be an operational plan posted to our website after the EIR is certified. As the program reevaluates its position, its potential to use aerial pheromone is still there but I don’t think that I foresee that at the current time.

Ms. Cioffi: Thank you.

Pegos: Thank you for the question.

Nan Wishner, City of Albany:

Hi, good morning, I just wanted to ask: I believe I heard Dr. Leavitt say at the end that the techniques would be selected for either eradication or control of the moth. The draft EIR had been predicated on the goal of eradication, so I want to clarify what would cause the program to shift its goal to control. Thank you.

Leavitt: Yes, Ms. Wishner, the program actually uses something called “official control,” which covers eradication and control, containment, and suppression, and the light brown apple moth, the programmatic environmental impact report for the light brown apple moth was written on a broad basis to evaluate many alternatives that could be used in eradication or a control program, and the program meets with the USDA and reevaluates its status at all times or frequently and at this point it’s still eradicating the moth, but that could change depending on the science and the trapping data.

Wishner: Thank you.

No further questions.

Pegos: Ok great, I’m going to turn it over to Dr. Leavitt for his closing comments.

Leavitt: Yes, again I want to thank everyone for joining the call and their interest in the Environmental Impact Report and their interest and support for the light brown apple moth program. I’d just like to go over and review the next steps very quickly.

Again., about 2:30 this afternoon, the 1,400 pages of comments and responses to comments will be uploaded to the CDFA website in a downloadable form, and it'll be available to the public right after that, and there’ll be a news release about it about 3PM. So by close of business today, everything we have will be public. Secretary Kawamura will then can study the document for as long as he pleases, and he’ll certify it when he’s prepared to do so, but not before March 4th because of the 10-day period available for public agencies to review their comments. There will be a Notice of Determination posted with the state Office of Planning and Research, and that will stay posted for 30 days. During that period and after the program will review its progress based on sound science and survey data it will make its future plans. I fully expect that to be twist ties in outlying infestations, continued development of the sterile insect technique, and continued research and development of bio-control agents. Again I want to stress that there’s no aerial pheromone release planned at this time. And I want to thank you, and I’ll turn this back to David Pegos.

Pegos: Great, thank you Dr. Leavitt. We really appreciate everyone’s interest in invasive species and thank you very much for your time today. That’ll terminate the call.

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From,
Stop The Spray

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USDA Fiscal Year 2011 Budget - $11 Million For LBAM

Senate Committee Appropriations - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified on the proposed $9 billion fiscal year 2011 Department of Agriculture budget.

Video - 3/2/10 - USDA Fiscal Year 2011 Budget:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/292330-1

USDA Secretary Vilsack Written Testimony: "Of note, the 2011 budget includes $11 million to continue efforts initiated with emergency funding to address the light brown apple moth (LBAM). This is an increase of $10 million compared to 2010. The LBAM is an invasive pest that attacks a wide variety of plants of agricultural or horticultural significance. APHIS estimates the pest could cause annual production losses up to $1 billion if allowed to spread."

Source:
http://appropriations.senate.gov/ht-agr ... 6af24ddcc2

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California Farmers, Nursery Owners, & Business People Seek Termination Of LBAM Eradication Program

Decry waste of taxpayer money, economic losses for local producers . . .

3/8/10 - Sonoma, California - Farmers, growers, nursery owners, plant wholesalers, produce distributors, restaurant owners, and business proprietors from around California have signed a letter asking that the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) eradication program be ended along with its quarantines; and that the classification of the moth be changed from Class A (serious pest) to Class C (of minor concern).

Farm Bureau member and apple grower Dave Hale (Sebastopol, CA) says "The current program accomplishes nothing except more paperwork" for farmers.

Signatories from Sonoma Valley to Yolo County to the Monterey Bay area to Fresno want the program ended because it wastes taxpayers dollars and its quarantines hurt local producers. The economic damage from LBAM has stemmed solely from government-mandated sanctions and not from the insects themselves. Since 2007, a berry grower from Watsonville, for example, might be prohibited from selling in a Marin farmers' market.

"The LBAM eradication program puts domestic producers at a disadvantage over foreign ones," says Chris Mittelstaedt, CEO of The Fruit Guys (South San Francisco, CA), which supplies fresh fruit to workplaces nationwide from regional hubs. "Our local growers are suffering under much harsher protocols imposed by our government than what their equivalents in New Zealand are subjected to when they export to the United States."

Almost $100 million was funneled through the program in 2008. Millions more have been spent since then. Program funding and restrictions largely originate from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Laguna Farm's Scott Matheson (Sonoma, CA) says that "For an insect that has not caused any documented damage to crops, I'm really disappointed in the program's waste of taxpayer money. The classification should be changed and we should focus on other real pests. The quarantines are a real distraction for people trying to grow food for the public."

Businesses from farm-supply stores to restaurants to custom bicycle-makers have come out in support of farmers and growers, recognizing the gratuitous economic hardship inflicted by an unresolved trade dispute.

"We support our local farmers" says George Goeggel of Napa Valley's world-famous Auberge du Soleil (Rutherford, CA) restaurant.

Farmers and growers can easily manage LBAM in their fields and do not feel there is any need for government intervention. Up until now, many have been afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation from regulatory agencies.

Peggy da Silva of Veritable Vegetable (San Francisco, CA), the oldest distributor of organic produce in the United States, says "For more than 35 years, our company has supported farmers who approach pest problems in ecologically sound ways. Many smaller independent farmers have been hurt by regulations that do not respect the great skill farmers have in managing their farms, producing healthy crops, and contributing to our state's economy."

The LBAM eradication program, with its zero-tolerance policy, has meant that a single potential sighting of LBAM in a field or nursery can shut down an entire operation for weeks. DNA testing for LBAM is not yet accurate enough to definitively demarcate LBAM from its close relatives, California native leafrollers. Former California Farm Bureau Federation President Doug Mosebar has said "The trading restrictions pose a particular burden for organic farmers and for small-scale farms."

LBAM is native to Australia, and has been naturalized in New Zealand for 150 years. The moth has been established in Hawaii for almost 100 years, where it has caused no damage; it has been present in California for decades.

Almost 100 conventional and organic farms and nurseries, both large and small, have signed the letter. An equal number of business supporters of the farmers have also signed on.

Among the signatories are farmers:

* Jim Eldon (Fiddler's Green Farm, Yolo County)
* Tony Coturri (Coturri Wine, Sonoma County)
* Dan Bambury (Catherine Bonneau Vineyard
* Sonoma County)
* Joe Shirmer and Stella Schlesinger (Dirty Girl Produce, Santa Cruz County)

Among the signatories are farmer supporters:

* Paul Grant (The Granary, Sonoma County)
* Dave Straus (Sloat Garden Centers, Marin/San Francisco/Contra Costa Counties)
* Kevin Sadlier (Green Jeans Garden Supply, Marin County).

Press Release (pdf attachment):

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Pesticide Spraying For Moth Remains Possible In Marin

3/13/10 - A proposal to spray pesticide over Marin to address a growing number of invasive light brown apple moths isn't quite dead.

A recently released state Department of Food and Agriculture final environmental impact report on the moth - the invasive insect the state fears could cause widespread agricultural damage - outlines how to address the pest, and aerial spraying remains an element of the plan.

The moth controversy arose in 2008 when the state unveiled plans to use airplanes to spray over Marin and other Bay Area counties to eradicate the moth, which officials said can be a voracious eater of crops and plants. After heated hearings, including in Marin, the plans were put on hold in favor of using sterile moths to control populations.

In the meantime the environmental report was developed. The only two treatment methods being considered now are the release of sterile moths and the placement of pheromone pesticide-laced twist ties on trees and plants, according to agriculture officials.

The department "is not currently considering aerial applications of pheromone," said Steve Lyle, spokesman for the state's food and agriculture department.

But the report does include maps of Bay Area counties and how they could be sprayed from the air. That has members of Mothers of Marin Against the Spray concerned; they say the plan still provides for aerial and ground pesticide spraying of large, populated areas.

"Once the EIR is certified and approved, legally they can do whatever they want," said Debbie Friedman, chairwoman of the mothers group. She is also concerned about the content of the pesticide, which remains a "trade secret."

"Today they are not spraying, but tomorrow they could," she said.

Lyle said using the sterile flies and twist ties are the preferred options to deal with the pest and that aerial spraying is "not on the table."

But Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, who has called for a hearing before the environmental impact report is certified by the state's agricultural commissioner - which could occur any day - said the inclusion of aerial spraying in the assessment is "troubling."

"They need to eliminate that part," Huffman said. "Aerial spraying will not happen, we will make sure it does not happen."

In the wake of the 2008 controversy, Huffman wrote AB 2765 requiring disclosure and public involvement in the state Department of Food and Agriculture's pesticide spraying programs. The bill requires the department to hold public hearings before spraying, disclose elements of the spray and to evaluate the human and environmental health effects.

Huffman also is questioning the science behind the moth effort and is wondering if the program was necessary and if the moth was really the threat it has been made out to be.

"All these claims may be bogus and not based on robust science," he said. "You have this agency revved up with funding in their budget, but we really need to step back and ask if the science supports the expense."

Earlier this month some farmers, growers, nursery owners, plant wholesalers, produce distributors, restaurant owners and business proprietors from around California signed a letter and sent it to the state asking that the light brown apple moth eradication program be ended along with its quarantines. It also requested the classification of the moth be changed from a serious pest to one of minor concern.

Farmers and growers can easily manage the moths in their fields, do not believe government intervention is needed and until now, many have been afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation from regulatory agencies, the letter states.

Growers say the zero-tolerance policy has meant that a single sighting of a moth in a field or nursery could shut down an entire operation for weeks.

"My main concern is how this affects my business," said Kevin Sadlier of Green Jeans Garden Supply in Mill Valley. "It's still not clear that this is a threat. It feels like taxpayers dollars could be better spent."

June through September light brown apple moth counts in Marin:

* 2007: Traps 917; moths 10

* 2008: Traps 1,672; moths 116

* 2009 Traps 1,567; moths 3,848

Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture

News article:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14672767

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CDFA To Hold Open House On Apple Moth Treatment

4/4/10 - Nipomo, California - The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) will host an informational open house in Nipomo on April 12 to share information with the public about its plans to eradicate the light brown apple moth.

The meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Nipomo Community Service District office, 148 S. Wilson St.

Officials from the San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture, CDFA and the United States Department of Agriculture will be available to explain the planned treatment in Nipomo, which includes using twist ties that contain moth pheromone.

The twist tie strips will be hung on outdoor plants within neighborhoods where the moths have been found recently.

Residents in that area will be contacted prior to the placement of the pheromone twist ties, officials said.

The pheromone distracts and confuses adult male moths so they cannot find female moths to mate, eventually causing the light brown apple moth population to decline and collapse as the rate of breeding slows and subsides.

In nature, the pheromone is released by the female moth to attract a mate. The pheromone used on the twist tie strips is registered and approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Pesticide Regulation.

A scientific review of the product found a low probability of adverse health effects due to low toxicity and low rate of application, although some sensitive individuals could potentially have an allergic reaction, officials said.

The light brown apple moth is native to Australia and can destroy, stunt and deform hundreds of plant, including landscapes commonly found in urban landscapes, public parks and the natural environment.

Additionally, the moth can injure citrus, grapes and deciduous fruit. Earlier in the year, the light brown apple moth damaged grapes in Monterey County and cane berries in Watsonville.

California is the only known infested area in the continental United States with light brown apple moth.

For more information about local plans to eradicate the insect, call county Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Richard Little at 434-5950.

More information about the light brown apple moth is available at http://www.cdfa.ca.gov//lbam.

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