SACRAMENTO, CA — Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) praised Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick’s ruling today to stop aerial spraying to control the light brown apple moth in Santa Cruz County before an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is completed. Leno urged passage of his urgency measure, AB 2760, to require the same environmental review before pesticide spraying could begin on all Bay Area communities or other urban areas.
“Too much is at stake to go forward without all of the facts,” said Leno. “I applaud Judge Burdick’s ruling today to stop the planned aerial spray in Santa Cruz County. We must fully understand the impacts of the chemicals on our children, families and communities before any spraying can begin.”
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 is an urgency measure that will take effect immediately after it is signed into law. Much like the judge’s ruling today, the bill would require that before widespread urban aerial spraying of pesticide to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth begins, an Environmental Impact Report must be completed. The EIR will provide policy makers and communities with a clear understanding of any possible impacts to human, animal and environmental health.
"It's imperative we have an open and transparent public process so that communities affected by a proposed eradication strategy can engage in the process and are part of the decision-making process," added Leno.
AB 2760 recently advanced from the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
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