California’s Court of Appeal has ruled the state’s statewide pesticide-spraying program violates the law by failing to study and minimize the threats from pesticides and not informing the public about the risks.
A handful of environmental groups sued the state over the program, and the California Farm Bureau Federation and California Citrus Mutual filed amicus curiae briefs in support of the state.
The court said the California Department of Food and Agriculture underrepresented the harm of the program by not showing the full effects on water quality.
“The court affirmed Californians have the right to know when dangerous pesticides are sprayed in their communities and what the risks are to people and to pollinators crucial to our food supply,” said Jonathan Evans, environmental health legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the case plaintiffs.
