LBAM Update

Concerns about Eradication Program Expressed at Federal Level; Huffman's AB 2765 Signed by Governor

In response to public outrage and wide-spread advocacy on the part of many community leaders and elected officials, the Governor has agreed to suspend aerial spraying for the light brown apple moth (LBAM) and instead pursue the use of sterile moths to control and eradicate the LBAM population.  Assemblymember Huffman applauds these developments, but urges everyone to stay engaged and keep up the pressure.

The LBAM eradication program was designed and is being carried out by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), but the program is being driven in large part by federal law and the emergency declaration by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Assemblymember Huffman is encouraged that members of Congress, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, have begun asking hard questions of USDA officials. For his part, Assemblymember Huffman recently sent the following comment to USDA representatives as part of a petition to federal representatives to terminate the eradication program:

"The plan to aerially spray pesticides over large swaths of residential neighborhoods in the Bay Area is deeply flawed and has generated a firestorm of opposition, the likes of which I have never seen in my 14 years as an elected official. This decision was made by CDFA without any public participation, without any analyses or assurances from public health officials, and with no regard to how the people of the Bay Area would feel about having a pesticide repeatedly sprayed down upon them and their homes, yards, swimming pools, playgrounds, childcare centers, and hospitals over the course of several months for a period of years. Understandably, the people of the Bay Area are crying foul by the thousands."

Meanwhile, Huffman's LBAM bill, AB 2765, which limits CDFA's emergency powers for pest eradication procedures, was signed by the Governor.  AB 2765 will reform the process by which aerial pesticide spraying decisions are made by requiring public hearings to identify alternatives to aerial spraying, mandating full disclosure of pesticide ingredients, and requiring CDFA to secure an assessment of human health and environmental impacts before any spraying decision is made.