L.A., Burbank Join Suit Over Aerial Spraying : Medfly: Council instructs city attorney to try to stop the malathion program. Similar lawsuits have been rejected by the courts.

The Los Angeles City Council joined the battle against malathion spraying Tuesday, instructing the city attorney to file a lawsuit intended to stop the state’s aerial eradication campaign against the Mediterranean fruit fly.

City Council members said that, despite assurances from state officials of malathion’s safety, they believe that far too many questions remain about the pesticide’s health effects.

“When the health of the public is at stake, government has the responsibility to prove it’s safe, not for the public to prove that it is unsafe,” said Councilman Joel Wachs. “The state has clearly failed to meet that burden of proof.”

The council vote was unanimous. Deputy City Atty. Keith Pritsker said the city expects to file its suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.

The Burbank City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to join the suit. The vote came after Acting City Atty. Juli Scott told the council that Glendale officials had passed a similiar resolution.

“I’m glad to see we’re joining hands with the city of Los Angeles,” said Burbank Councilman Michael Hastings. “It’s the only direction we can go.”

In another development Tuesday, the Pasadena Board of Directors took the novel approach of voting to ban flights of low-flying helicopters over the city in an effort to stop spraying. But state officials said the measure would have no effect on the state’s emergency Medfly program.

The cities of Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Westminster and Pomona already have filed suits aimed at stopping the applications of a sticky bait laced with malathion, which is now being sprayed over more than 380 square miles of Southern California. Efforts by these cities to obtain temporary injunctions against the spraying have been denied by Superior Court judges.

The Legal Aid Society of Orange County filed suit last week in federal court, claiming that the spraying was dangerous to the homeless. The society lost its initial bid in court, but it is scheduled to argue its case again on Feb. 27.

Charles Getz, the deputy state attorney general who has handled the previous suits against the state, said he believes that Los Angeles’ attempt to block the spraying will fare no better than the others.

“I never take these things lightly,” he said, “but I am confident the project is legally defensible. Two courts have already said it is.”

Getz said he believes that the state has more than proved that aerial spraying is safe for the public and is the only practical method to protect California’s multibillion-dollar fruit industry.

But Wachs, whose Arts, Health and Humanities Committee has sponsored public hearings on the issue, said state officials have failed to prove their case.

The medical studies presented by the state have been “outdated, incomplete and in several key issues, refuted,” Wachs said.

“When you’re dealing with the health of the people, you’ve got to be sure,” he said.

Wachs said he was particularly disturbed by the state’s failure to pursue alternative means of controlling the Medfly, such as the use of sterile flies to breed the pest out of existence.

Early in the infestation, the state in fact did attempt to contain it with the release of sterile flies, but as the outbreak spread the supply dwindled. Two new breeding facilities in Hawaii are expected to be providing a large supply of sterile flies by late spring.

Councilman Michael Woo attacked what he called the “arrogance” of state officials who have stuck with the spraying campaign despite public complaints.

“This is a blatant example of the urban population being held hostage to the agricultural interests of the state,” Woo said.

Pritsker said the Los Angeles suit will focus on the state’s failure to fulfill certain legal requirements needed to begin an emergency eradication program.

He said that under state law, the state must prove that all methods of eradication other than pesticide have been used to the maximum, that the agriculture industry faces significant economic damage and that the public has been properly notified of each spraying.

Getz said the state has violated no laws in its eradication program and has done everything possible to protect both the public and the agriculture industry.

Pritsker said the Los Angeles suit is broader than actions filed by other cities and, unlike the other suits, will not seek an immediate halt to spraying. Instead, the city’s strategy will be to allow the court to make a more complete examination of the evidence before ruling. He said he expects that the case will be heard by the end of March.

In a related action, the Long Beach City Council also voted Tuesday to sue the state if there is any expansion of the current spray zone in north and northeastern Long Beach.

Times staff writers Bettina Boxall and Vicki Torres contributed to this story.

MALATHION FEARS

State officials attempt to allay malathion fears. B4

MEDFLY SPRAYING MAP: B2