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City Attorney Dennis Herrera is part of a coalition of cities and environmental groups that have filed opening arguments in a lawsuit challenging the California Department of Food and Agriculture's (CDFA) statewide light brown apple moth eradication program. The coalition's opening brief, filed in late December, charges that CDFA violated state law by: (1) misrepresenting or failing to evaluate health effects of the program; (2) making a last-minute change in the program that would allow spraying to go on indefinitely; and (3) pursuing an unnecessary program because there remains no documented evidence of apple moth damage in California although the moth has been in the state for many years. According to documents highlighted in the plaintiffs' argument, scientists hired to prepare the EIR warned CDFA against trying to cover up health effects of apple moth pesticides, manipulated calculations to minimize health risks, and tried -- without success -- to obtain evidence of apple moth damage.

Said Herrera: "California law requires that citizens be fully informed about potential risks that projects like aerial spraying pose to public health and our environment. Yet the evidence is clear that the state agency pushing the controversial light brown apple moth program is falling short of its legal mandate. San Francisco continues to have grave concerns about the likely adverse consequences of this controversial program, and we're grateful to be a part of a coalition that includes local governments and environmental and public health advocates to make sure our concerns are fully addressed."

• News release: Apple Moth Lawsuit Opening Brief: State's Analysis Gives License to Spray Pesticides Indefinitely without Studying Health Effects; Attorneys for cities and citizen groups say flawed state environmental analysis should start over (Jan. 3, 2012)
• Download the PDF of the LBAM lawsuit opening brief presskit (Jan. 3, 2012)