State High Court Refuses to Stop Medfly Spraying

The state Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for the aerial spraying of the Medfly-killing insecticide malathion over an 18-square-mile area of Corona and Norco later that night.

Weather conditions seemed ideal for the 3 1/2-hour flyovers, in which droplets of malathion-laced corn syrup were to be spewed over residential neighborhoods, businesses, parks and farms by three helicopters flying at 400 feet.

Another desperate appeal by the city of Corona--filed Tuesday in Riverside Superior Court and claiming that the state’s public notification of the spraying was illegally broad--failed to stop the spraying. Judge Victor Miceli immediately rejected the appeal.

So Corona city officials, 0 for 4 in legal attempts to stop the aerial spraying and unable to win a last-minute reprieve from Gov. Pete Wilson, said they are preparing to sue the state for damages.

“It will cost us $100,000 or better to send crews out to hose down the parks and schools,” complained Corona Councilman Jeff Bennett. “I’m advising every resident to file a damage claim against the state. This is . . . wrong.”

State agricultural officials said the unpopular aerial spraying is necessary to stop the insidious march of the Medfly into rich farmlands, jeopardizing the state’s $18-billion agricultural industry. Japan and other export markets have threatened to boycott California citrus and other vulnerable crops if the infestation spreads.

Before Tuesday, Corona officials had lost two lower court battles to stop the spraying, unsuccessfully claiming that the state failed to abide by its own environmental laws by not studying the long-term health effects of the garden variety insecticide, and that Wilson technically erred in declaring a state emergency because of the pest.

But Wilson refused to ground the helicopters. The Superior Court judge said he would not challenge the governor’s decision and ruled that malathion was safe.

An appellate court agreed, and added that the need for the eradication is obvious. The state Supreme Court on Tuesday, without comment, refused to consider the city’s appeal. Finally on Tuesday, the same Riverside Superior Court judge rejected the final argument that the spray-notification process was ambiguous.

So despite three false starts--caused by court delays and inclement weather--the three helicopters were prepped for flights Tuesday at March Air Force Base near Riverside, where they were under military guard.

Protesters had threatened to release helium-filled balloons to thwart the helicopters but decided against it.

The amount of malathion to be released amounted to 1.2 fluid ounces per acre--a weaker dose than would likely be used by back yard gardeners and commercial growers if they were to battle the Medfly on their own, state officials say.

The concentration is half that used in 1989-90 when more than 500 square miles of Southern California were sprayed by air, and officials believed the effort had gotten rid of the pests. But the Medfly reappeared in 1991.

To battle the current infestation in the Los Angeles Basin, about 500 million sterile Medflies will be released weekly in a 1,500-square-mile area encompassing parts of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Corona officials said some of those flies should have been reserved for use in western Riverside County as well. But the state said there were not enough sterile Medflies to blanket Corona as well, so the aerial spraying was a necessary last resort.

Confronted with the public outcry against the spraying, state officials said the droplets are not dangerous on contact--although they may stain car paint.

The Medfly is killed after eating the bait, but the malathion is too weak to affect horses and other livestock, state pesticide experts say. At worst, people exposed to the insecticide-bait mixture may experience a short-lived rash, medical experts have said. Critics have contended that malathion exacerbates chronic fatigue syndrome and other maladies.

Owners of an estimated 15,000 horses in the region have complained that their animals might be spooked by the low-flying helicopters, and the state recommended that the horses be hobbled or otherwise restrained.

Between eight and 10 aerial applications are scheduled in the next four months in an effort by the state and federal Cooperative Medfly Project to rid the Mediterranean fruit fly from Corona and Norco. A mated female Medfly was discovered in a trap there in December.