For Immediate Release: April 25, 2019
Contact: Mark Weller, Californians for Pesticide Reform, 831-325-1681, mark@pesticidereform.org
On March 20, 2019, a research team from UCLA Law School released Governance on the ground: Evaluating the role of county agricultural commissioners in reducing toxic pesticide exposures. The report confirmed that across the state, agricultural commissioners are ignoring their legal obligation to consider both safer alternatives and the health impacts of cumulative exposure when issuing permits for restricted pesticide applications.
Responding to the report, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and a number of County Agricultural Commissioners offered an array of excuses for their failure to follow laws designed to protect community health, or in the case of the Fresno County Agricultural Commissioner, flatly declared the report’s findings to be false.
Californians for Pesticide Reform, a statewide coalition of 190+ organizations, has delivered a letter to the Department of Pesticide Regulation urging action to ensure that all counties are swiftly brought into compliance with the law.
################################
Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR) is a diverse, statewide coalition of over 190 member groups working to strengthen pesticide policies in California to protect public health and the environment. Member groups include public and children’s health advocates, clean air and water groups, health practitioners, environmental justice groups, labor, education, farmers and sustainable agriculture advocates from across the state.
