Roth Criticizes Governor on Medfly : Spraying: Supervisor says Deukmejian has put board in an untenable position and calls governor’s letter on the issue “a sham.” .

An angry Board of Supervisors Chairman Don R. Roth criticized Gov. George Deukmejian and state officials Tuesday for forcing county leaders into the politically uncomfortable position of having to repeatedly approve an emergency declaration in the state’s battle against the Mediterranean fruit fly.

“I’m frustrated that there has been no correct answer from the state on this issue,” Roth told other supervisors. “I’m tired of taking these actions every two weeks.”

Supervisors are required by state law to renew the declaration of emergency every two weeks or lose protection against possible liability claims from the aerial spraying of malathion. Board members have been trying to find ways to avoid dealing with the controversial issue of whether the pesticide spraying by helicopter poses any health or safety risk. Supervisors Roth, Thomas F. Riley and Gaddi H. Vasquez have supported renewal of the declaration since last November, and Roger R. Stanton and Harriett M. Wieder have opposed it.

In a March 8 letter to Roth, Deukmejian wrote that other jurisdictions faced with the same review requirement used a “less formalized process than has Orange County.” The governor suggested that the supervisors talk with the other jurisdictions and find out how they are doing it.

Roth said that other counties were contacted and that “we are doing the same as anybody else.” He added, “I am disappointed in the governor’s letter to us in which he did not spell out some other alternative where we would not have to do this every two weeks.”

“Here we have Sacramento 500 miles away, and we are unable to communicate exactly what the problem is. The governor’s letter was really a sham, telling us, ‘Why don’t you do like other counties do and you won’t have any problems,’ so it appears to me they don’t know what they are doing either.”

Roth said he was concerned that this illustrated the way state government is “being run up and down the State of California.”

The state began malathion spraying in parts of Orange County last December after pregnant female Medflies were found. But state officials announced last week that they expect to end the aerial spraying in the county as of May 3, a month early.

Supervisor Stanton, an outspoken critic of the aerial spraying, summed up why the issue is politically controversial.

“No one on this board favors spraying,” Stanton said. “There is a little bit of confusion when people read the vote on this issue.”

Vasquez said “this experience” with the Medfly has shown that there are “some problems and inconsistencies with the concept of the declaration of emergencies.”

“Whether it’s the Medfly or something down the road we may not be able to foresee right now . . . it’s imperative that we engage in a strategy so we can resolve this issue,” Vasquez said. He added that the board has to face the “now famous two-week review” without having “any right of refusal.”

In a related development, state officials, responding to concerns raised by Orange County malathion critics, have decided to take no action on the idea of requiring hotels and motels in the spray zones to notify their guests about upcoming aerial applications.

In a letter addressed to Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) and released Tuesday, Isi A. Siddiqui, assistant director of the state Department of Food and Agriculture, said the hotels and other businesses are being notified of sprayings.

“Therefore, your suggestion that the state supply treatment information to these establishments is duly noted, and we are glad to report that it has been done all along and will continue to be done,” he said.

But the response does not address the specific question of requiring the hotels to notify their guests, an idea that state officials had previously rejected.

“They totally missed the point,” said Garden Grove resident Bob Taylor, an anti-malathion organizer who, along with Pringle, had called for the notification requirement. “We made clear what we wanted, and they chose just to ignore us.”

Meanwhile, state agriculture officials have rescheduled the malathion spraying in North County for this Friday.

Times staff writer Eric Lichtblau contributed to this report.

Safety PROBLEMS:Firm hired to spray malathion has a history of acccidents. A3