LBAM to Court Again

State agriculture department sued for alleged violations in light brown apple moth program.

Monday, April 26, 2010

The state's light brown apple moth program is back in court.

On April 19, Oakland public-interest fim The Law Offices of Stephan C. Volker, filed suit against California Department of Food and Agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura and several pesticide manufacturers, alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act in the agency's environmental impact report on its light brown apple moth program.

The lawsuit's central question: Can an EIR focused on completely eradicating the pest in California - CDFA's goal as late as March 10 - apply now that the CDFA has changed its goal to "keeping LBAM from attaining damaging levels," as announced March 22?

Perhaps the most troubling flaw in the EIR is that the entire CDFA LBAM program was predicated on the eradiction of the moth from California.

"By substantially modifying the project's scope and goals after the Final EIR was already published, CDFA failed to create a proper EIR," the complaint states.

The lawsuit also addresses the LBAM program's potential impacts on human and environmental health, including climate change.

Plaintiffs include locals who claim to have been injured in the 2007 aerial spraying of synthetic LBAM pheromones in the Monterey Bay Area soon after the Australian pest was discovered in California.

The Volkner firm claims credit for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to ban further use of Checkmate, the synthetic pheromone used in the aerial spraying.

In March, more than 100 California growers petitioned for an end to the LBAM program.