Is it safe to spray to eradicate the light brown apple moth? Legal battles brew

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Talk about an earthy fight: Two coalitions of state environmental and community groups have recently filed lawsuits (PDF) against California’s program to eradicate the light brown apple moth. On Thursday, a collection of Bay Area cities and community groups filed their challenge of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s program in Alameda County Superior Court.

The CDFA has been pushing forward efforts to curtail the spread of the invasive Australia moth, which the agency says poses a risk to fruit and ornamental plants. Detection of the moth has led to thousands of square miles of land being quarantined. State agriculture officials have certified an environmental impact study about a program that would use insecticide and other methods of decreasing reproduction rates. But the study has raised protests from scientists and environmentalists, who say the eradication measures are unnecessary.

The lawsuit filed in Alameda claims that the study is based on flawed data and scientific methodology, and that the state’s decision to try to control the moth – rather than simply eradicate it – invalidated the study.

The study didn’t weigh other options, such as not taking any action, and left unclear what other future options the agency might take, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs included the cities of Albany, Berkeley and Richmond, and nine other environmental or community groups.

“One has no way of guessing what spraying or any of the other many approved treatments CDFA will use (or what the risks and synergistic effects these treatments or any combination of treatments may have), where CDFA will use the various treatments … when CDFA will use what treatments, or even why CDFA will use whatever combination of treatments it may decide to use for any specific place,” the complaint states.

A second lawsuit, which outlined similar allegations and is trying to stop the program, was filed Monday in Sacramento Superior Court.

--P.J. Huffstutter