SACRAMENTO, CA — The San Francisco Supervisors took much needed action today opposing the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s eradication proposal of the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) and passed a resolution supporting Assemblyman Mark Leno’s measure, AB 2760, which would require that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) be completed before a pesticide can be sprayed in an urban area. The board’s action comes on the heels of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee’s Monday passage of AB 2760 -- with an urgency clause to allow it to take effect immediately after if it is signed into law, giving it the teeth necessary to stop the current spray proposal.

“I thank the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for their support of AB 2760,” said Assemblyman Leno. “Too much is at stake to go forward without all of the facts. We must understand the impacts of the chemicals on our children, families and communities before any spraying can begin,” he said.

Leno introduced AB 2760 in response to The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) aerial spraying of pesticide in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in the fall of 2007, which occurred without an EIR. Despite the more than 600 health complaints filed by the citizens of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties after the initial spray, CDFA expanded the proposed spray zone to include additional urban areas including San Francisco, Tiburon, Belvedere, Daly City, Colma, Oakland, Piedmont, Emeryville, Albany, El Cerrito and El Sobrante.

AB 2760 would require that before widespread urban aerial applications of pesticide to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth commence, an Environmental Impact Report must be completed to provide policy makers and communities with a clear understanding of any possible impacts to human, animal, or environmental health.

Leno’s measure is part of a package that he and his colleagues have put forward this year to address the state’s lack of preparation and outreach on Light Brown Apple Moth eradication efforts, including bills by Assemblymembers Laird (AB 2763) , Hancock (AB 2764), Huffman (AB 2765) and Swanson (AB 2892).

AB 2760 will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations committee in the coming weeks.