Light brown apple moth controversy
The
Light brown apple moth
The insect is regarded as an
. The species is native to Australia and is found in New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Hawaii.The moth has been classified as a noxious insect in the United States and Canada, but not in Europe. This resulted in restrictions on importing and exporting produce from infested areas between the US, Mexico, and Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement.[1]
History
The first light brown apple moth to be confirmed in
In early 2007, the state decided to eradicate the moth. This decision may have been prompted in part by quarantine measures imposed by Canada and Mexico on California's produce.[1] At the time, some experts thought that eradication was feasible, and others did not.[2] The potential losses related to lost and damaged crops, if the moth spread unchecked throughout the state, was estimated to be above US $600 million ($880 million after adjusting for inflation).[3]
The California Department of Food and Agriculture issued a State Interior Quarantine order restricting intrastate shipment of plant material from counties where LBAM had been found. The US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service later issued a Federal Domestic Quarantine order on May 2, 2007, with restrictions on interstate shipment of plant material.[4] CDFA officials, together with the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, initiated what they described as an emergency eradication program, including domestic and international quarantines and inspection programs. Although a pesticide cannot be legally used if it has not been registered by EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs in accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the EPA has the ability to approve emergency exemptions (under Section 18 of FIFRA) for unregistered uses of pesticides for limited time periods, if the EPA determines that emergency conditions exist and the request meets EPA safety requirements.[5] The EPA granted the quarantine exemption request from the USDA.[6]
The amount of active ingredient applied was less than one ounce per acre (about one-eighth of a drop per square meter).[7] The Monterey County Weekly, in October 2007, reported that according to CDFA spokesman Jay Van Rein, the first two aerial applications over the Monterey Peninsula cost $3.7 million, with $3.1 million of that used to buy the spray products.[8] The November 2007 application was described as costing $2.7 million.[9]
In 2012, during a budget crunch, the state cut funding for the pest control program, including for
Eradication measures
In late 2007, the California moth eradication program controversially included
In December 2015, a California appeals court ruled against the LBAM pesticide program on the grounds that it violated state environmental laws by not sufficiently considering less harmful alternatives.[14]
Adverse health claims
After the spraying in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in the fall of 2007, 453 complaints of adverse health effects in humans were reported.
Of the 74 people who said they sought medical assistance, most reported
Critics such as Assemblymember John Laird were disappointed by the report.[15]
Efficacy debate and proposed solutions
This section contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (August 2023) |
Critics state that no published efficacy reports on the pheromone formulations used aerially against LBAM exist,[16][self-published source?] raising questions about the validity of the eradication effort. Additionally, University of California scientists and other independent experts recommend containment measures in urban areas, reserving full-scale airplane spraying for crop areas in the Central Valley.[17] Oakland city council member Jane Brunner questioned the location of the sprayings in interviews and in her resolution against the efforts.[18]
The group 'Helping Our Peninsula's Environment' proposes controlling the moth with the targeted use of pheromone-baited sticky traps. These are the same traps used for population size measuring purposes. The traps have caught and killed almost all the 27,000 LBAM moths found so far in California.[19][self-published source?] This method would employ four additional traps for every LBAM caught and consumes far less resources in traps and staff than applying 160,000 twist ties per square mile (250 per acre).[citation needed]
Other critics of the aerial spray plan, such as The California Nevada Regional Conservation Committee of the Sierra Club,[20] propose that twist ties be impregnated with the pheromone and hung on trees and other structures across the area. They say they prefer least-toxic, environmentally sensitive control methods to spraying.[21][self-published source?]
The
In March 2008, Fairfax, California City Councilmember Larry Bragman wrote an article stating that since no biological basis for the spraying appears to exist, the more likely issue appears to be the costly trade quarantines invoked by Mexico and Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). But he also cited an excerpt from the Mexican quarantine demand: "The present phytosanitary conditions may be modified or harmonized whenever we have more technical and scientific information regarding E. postvittana (LBAM) as well as we receive more information about the evolution status of this pest in the United States."[25]
Bragman, like others, notes that the moth is not a quarantine pest in Europe, and pointed to the recent research papers by Harder[26] and Carey that he believes constitute technical and scientific information which should be conveyed to trade representatives.[1]
Several county public health officials posted public letters expressing their concerns or disagreements with the spray program. Health Officer of the Public Health Division of the County of Santa Cruz, Poki Stewart Namkung, stated in a letter on March 18, 2008, to Santa Cruz Assemblymember Laird, that "We do not believe that any spraying should commence before completion of an EIR that includes a comprehensive human health assessment."[27]
Alameda County Public Health Director, Athony Iton, along with
On April 9, 2008, California Congressmember Sam Farr (D-Carmel) further inquired at an agriculture hearing in Washington D.C. about how and when the light brown apple moth was blacklisted and whether it should be declassified from that status. News stories about the inquiry quoted Farr as saying: "If we don’t even know why the moth is listed as a dangerous pest, it’s impossible to determine how far we must go to control it or whether the current emergency eradication tactics are justified."[29][30]
In December 2013, James Carey and Daniel Harder published an article criticizing the way expert panels are structured, because they permit scientists involved in a decision-making process to have private discussions and do not generally release information about internal disagreements to the public.[31]
Legal challenges, public outcry and investigations
By June 2008, over 30 California city councils including San Francisco, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Santa Cruz, Oakland, Albany and Berkeley had passed resolutions against the spray and over 80 environmental, health and political groups were on record opposing it.[23][32] In February 2008, several legislative bills based on citizen concerns about aerial spraying in urban areas and the ability of state agencies to declare a state of emergency were drafted by state legislators.[33][34] On March 13, 2008, Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 117, calling on the Departments of Food and Agriculture and Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and other state agencies to answer unresolved questions. He stated, "It is the responsibility of our government to demonstrate its LBAM actions are necessary and do not compromise human or environmental health,” Laird said. “It isn’t the responsibility of the people to demonstrate the reverse."[35] The resolution uses a fast track process in the state House and Senate which does not require the Governor's signature. Laird's Invasive Pest Planning Act of 2008, AB 2763, passed the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee by a vote of 4–0 on April 2 of 2008.[36] On March 22, 2008, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wrote a public letter to the Governor urging him to study health consequences before continuing with the spray campaign. He cited relevant state legislation and asked the governor to sign the bills into law immediately.[37]
In order to conduct the spraying, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (not the state agency) was able to obtain an "emergency exemption from registration" from the U.S. EPA. Representatives of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation say that because of that exemption, the spraying program is not subject to state approval.[33] But Santa Cruz city Attorney John Barisone has said that the moth "isn't an emergency. We've known about it for quite a while." The legal brief he is involved in argues that the state first knew, in 1995, that the moth was "highly likely" to establish itself in the United States, but that no environmental studies were done on how best to deal the moth, resulting in the spray plan and consequent panic among residents fearful of spray effects.[38]
In March 2008, an
Another contract questioned by some has been the contract for the aerial dispersal of the pheromone, given to Dynamic Aviation,[40] an experienced Virginia aerial application[41] company that also has government contracts with the Defense Department and Homeland Security,[42] among others.[43][44]
In an article for The California Progressive Report, the Mayor of
On September 24, 2007 Helping Our Peninsula's Environment (HOPE) filed the first suit alleging CDFA had violated California's Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by falsely claiming their aerial spraying program was exempt from CEQA due to an emergency. A little more than one month later the County and City of Santa Cruz filed an essentially identical lawsuit.
On April 24, 2008, Santa Cruz County won their California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit against CDFA halting any spraying in that county until an Environmental Impapct Report (EIR) is completed. On May 8 CDFA's attorney Anita Ruud told Monterey County Judge O'Farrell the EIR is expected to be complete in January 2009. In 2008 CDFA suspended aerial spraying during the rainy season until late spring indicating that aerial spraying in Santa Cruz County should not resume until late spring 2009.
In response to Judge Burdick's question CDFA's attorney Bill Jenkins admitted that LBAM had done "no documented damage" to California agriculture or ecosystems. The county attorney Jason Heath cited documentation that some federal officials themselves did not consider the moth to be a serious threat, but instead described it as a "transient pest" and cited "largely untested strategies."
At the end of the hearing the Judge ruled that CDFA had abused their discretion and violated California's Environmental Quality Act when they illegally exempted their aerial spraying program from CEQA claiming the LBAM discovery in California was an emergency. Judge Burdick did not find any evidence that the arrival of the light brown apple moth in California constitutes the claimed emergency. He ordered CDFA to halt the spraying program and rescind their exemption from CEQA until an Environmental Impapct Report is completed.
Just an hour later, following a meeting with State Senator Carole Migden and Marin County officials, Governor Schwarzenegger announced that the state will postpone the spray program until some tests for acute toxicity of the sprays are completed expected on August 17, 2008.[46]
On May 12, 2008, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Robert A. O'Farrell reached a similar conclusion in an identical Monterey CEQA case brought on September 24, 2007 by Helping Our Peninsula's Environment (HOPE).
O'Farrell halted the program of aerial spraying of Monterey peninsula communities until an Environmental Impact Report is prepared. The judge ruled that CDFA had illegally exempted themselves from the California Environmental Quality Act because there was no "substantial evidence" of significant damage by the LBA moth.[47]
On June 18, 2008 CDFA filed Notices of Appeal for both of the CEQA lawsuits they had lost. (The following day CDFA announced the abandonment of aerial spraying over populated areas. It is not known whether CDFA will pursue the appeals.)
In December 2013, Drs. James Carey and Daniel Harder published a paper titled, "Clear, Present, Significant, & Imminent Danger: Questions for the California Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) Technical Working Group," in the journal, American Entomologist.[31] The study calls into question the role of scientists in the decision-making that led to the aerial spray.
On December 2, 2015, in a case against the CDFA by several groups, including Earth Justice, the California Environmental Health Initiative, Pesticide Action Network, and others, the Third District Court of Appeals ruled against the LBAM pesticide program on the grounds that it violated state environmental laws.[48]
State legislation
On April 16, the Assembly Agriculture Committee passed two pieces of legislation: ACR 117 and AB 2763.
ACR 117 is an Assembly Concurrent Resolution that calls on the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and other relevant state departments to address unresolved health, scientific and efficacy issues involving the eradication plans. The resolution passed 5–3 and next goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2763, the Invasive Pest Planning Act of 2008 – would require the CDFA to create a list of invasive animals, plants, and insects that have a reasonable likelihood of entering California for which an eradication program might be appropriate.[49]
See also
- Aerial application
- Mating disruption
- Non-pesticide management
- Pesticide
- Pesticide application
- Pesticide drift
- Pesticide misuse
- Pesticide poisoning
References
- ^ a b c d Bragman, Larry (27 March 2008). "Will U.S. trade policy again trump public health?". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ a b Kay, Jane (6 March 2008). "Experts question plan to spray to fight moths". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ^ Ragan, Tom (2007-11-02). "Aerial spraying against moth to begin in Santa Cruz County next week". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ^ Light Brown Apple Moth in California: Quarantine, Management, and Potential Impacts
- ^ EPA Quarantine Exemptions for Light Brown Apple Moth Pheromones
- ^ (E,E)-9,11-Tetradecadien-1-yl Acetate; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, and Solicitation of Public Comment
- ^ a b c d e f g h Department of Pesticide Regulation (10 April 2008). "Summary of Symptom Reports in Areas of Aerial Pheromone Application for Management of the Light Brown Apple Moth in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, September, October, and November 2007" (PDF). Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Department of Public Health. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ^ State releases list of moth spray ingredients, legal battle continues
- ^ State to spray Santa Cruz County in bid to eradicate apple moth
- ^ Rogers, Paul (10 February 2012). "Five years after the light brown apple moth scare, California quietly stops funding moth-control programs". The San Jose Mercury–News.
- ^ CDFA Light Brown Apple Moth Project
- ^ Light Brown Apple Moth Eradication Program Update: MONTEREY COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT LIFTS TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER, GOVERNOR ORDERS ERADICATION PROGRAM TO RESUME AND INGREDIENTS TO BE MADE PUBLIC
- ^ Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer (June 19, 2008). "Officials Call Of(f) Aerial Spray for Apple Moth". sfgate.com.
- ^ Clark, Samantha (2015-12-09). "Appeals court finds light brown apple moth program lacked proper review". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ^ "Laird Reaction to State Report on Health Affects from LBAM Spraying". Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ Hope For the Truth – FAQ
- ^ Experts question plan to spray to fight moths
- ^ Berkeley may try to halt spraying
- ^ "HOPE - Sticky Traps - Non-Spraying, More Effective Control for LBA moth".
- ^ "Sierra Club California". 8 February 2014.
- ^ "Blog about health and salubrity with Robert Stassey. How to preserve health from a young age – healthy life – happy life" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ a b http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PDEP/lbam/pdfs/LBAM_QandA.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ a b "Contra Costa Times". Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ^ "San Francisco Bay Guardian : Article : Godzilla versus Mothra". Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- ^ "Larry Bragman: Will U.S. trade policy again trump public health?". Marin Independent Journal. 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
- ^ "Integrated Pest Management Practices for the Light Brown Apple Moth in New Zealand: Implications for California" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-26. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Alameda County Public Health Director Tony Iton and County Supervisor Keith Carson express concerns" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ^ Can't we just de-list the moth, already?
- ^ "April 9, 2008 – Farr Questions Feds on LBAM". Archived from the original on 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ^ ISSN 2155-9902.
- ^ "Local Governments and Groups opposing the Spray". Archived from the original on 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
- ^ a b Bills seek to curb pesticide spray over cities
- ^ Migden battles aerial moth spraying
- ^ "Laird calls on state for moth-spray answers". Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ "Laird LBAM-based Pest Planning Legislation Passes Assembly Committee". Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ "Newsom Urges Governor Schwarzenegger To Study Health Consequences Before Moth Spraying Proceeds". Archived from the original on 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ "Light brown apple moth fight heads to court". Archived from the original on 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ AP Exclusive: Moth-spraying PR deal suspended amid questions
- ^ Dynamic Aviation
- ^ "Dynamic Aviation Aerial Application". Archived from the original on 2009-12-19. Retrieved 2009-12-22.
- ^ "National Defense / Homeland Security Award" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
- ^ Borsook, Paulina. Bush Administration to Blue-State California: Drop Dead!
- ^ LVAMspray FAQ
- ^ Aerial Spraying for the Light Brown Apple Moth in California is Dangerous to Our Health and Unnecessary Archived 2008-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Judge, Schwarzenegger Stop Apple Moth Spraying". Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ Judge's Intended Decision
- ^ HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS WIN VICTORY IN APPLE MOTH PESTICIDE LAWSUIT
- ^ "Laird LBAM Legislation Passes Assembly Agriculture Committee". Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-04-17.