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Industry Information >>Agriculture>>The Department of Pesticide Regulation ordered farmers to reduce their use of

The Department of Pesticide Regulation ordered farmers to reduce their use of

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation imposed rulesthat call for immediate emissions reductions to take effect thisyear in five regions by decreasing crop spraying by 20 percent. Theregulations were not invalidated by the appeals court ruling,according to department Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam.

Rob Roy, president and general counsel of the Ventura CountyAgricultural Association, had a different assessment.

"The court has given the governor and Department of PesticideRegulation a green light to do away with these rules," he said."Our top priority now is to urge them to do so immediately."

On Wednesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed alower court ruling that found the state had failed to adoptenforceable measures to control air pollution. The panel said thelower court lacked the authority to make that finding, and it saidany legal challenge had to take the form of a petition to reviewthe Environmental Protection Agency's rule-making process.

Prompted by the lower court ruling  now found to be erroneous the Department of Pesticide Regulation ordered farmers to reducetheir use of fumigants this year. Strawberry farmers in VenturaCounty, in particular, complained that the new restrictions wouldreduce the number of acres they would be able to harvest.

Farmers use fumigants to cleanse the soil of disease and pestsbefore planting.

Warmerdam said the regulations "allow us to meet our ongoingobligation." It is unclear how her stance will affect area growers.

The complex issue involves a confusing mishmash of rules andlitigation by environmentalists. It has generated two sets ofregulations, known as VOC I and VOC II.

VOC I requires immediate emissions reductions. VOC II, developedthis year by the state pesticide department, would give growersfour years to reduce emissions to acceptable levels. VOC II wasrecently published in the Federal Register, but, Warmerdam said, itis not final and needs a state counterpart before it takes effect.

The appeal court ruling only addressed VOC I. It's unclear to RickTomlinson, director of public policy for the California StrawberryCommission, how both VOC I and VOC II can be valid at the sametime.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I don't know."

The growers are dedicated to reducing emissions, he said, and "nowit's up to DPR to fix the regulation."

Warmerdam said Thursday that the four-year phase-in is operative,and Ventura County growers can rest assured that they will havetime to reduce emissions.

Ventura County farmers have spent loads of money onemissions-reduction technology, Tomlinson said, and they willcontinue to do so.

With the state's blessing, farmers can now go to the countyAgricultural Commissioner's Office and ask for increased fumigantallocations.

"We've been expecting this for a couple weeks and planning for it,"said Chief Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Susan Johnson.

"So we had planned to begin issuing additional allocations nextweek, and as soon as DPR gets the emission inventory figuresdocumenting how much more each person is entitled to, we will beginissuing permits for that amount if people want them."

A lawsuit that Roy's organization filed in February against the DPRseeking to invalidate the regulations is pending.

He said his association made a settlement offer to the DPR onThursday.

Warmerdam said she was not aware of any settlement offer but addedthat the agency is open to discussions.


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