Courts Reject Plea; Aerial Medfly Spraying Begins

Aerial spraying of the Medfly-killing insecticide malathion began Tuesday night after the state Supreme Court and a Riverside Superior Court rejected last-minute appeals to stop the controversial air attack on the crop-ravaging pest.

Shortly after 9 p.m., three helicopters began spewing a sticky corn syrup bait laced with the garden-variety insecticide over an 18-square-mile area of Corona and Norco.

Despite a widespread community outcry over the aerial application of malathion and four court battles in which the city stalled but could not derail the eradication plans, there were no disruptions once the operation began.

Some protesters had threatened to release helium-filled balloons to thwart the aircraft, but later decided against it. Concern that the most passionate opponents might resort to more violent means appeared to be unwarranted as the spraying continued into the night.

Because of concerns that attempts might be made to sabotage the operation, the helicopters were prepared under military guard at March Air Force Base near Riverside.

Weather conditions were considered perfect for the 3 1/2-hour operation, in which the helicopters flying in formation made continuous passes over the city at an altitude of about 400 feet, blanketing residential neighborhoods, business, parks and farmland with the droplets.

Throughout the area, many vehicles were covered with tarps and other material to protect the paint. Spectators watched the aircraft from a distance, then retreated indoors for cover as the helicopters approached. Some horse owners hobbled their animals so they could not run away if they were spooked.

Even though Corona could not stop the flights, officials threatened more legal action.

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

The spraying began after three false starts caused by bad weather and court-ordered postponements.

Corona had appealed the spraying to a Riverside Superior Court Judge, arguing that the state violated its own environmental regulations by failing to study the long-term health effects of malathion.

It also contended that Gov. Pete Wilson legally erred when he declared a state emergency over the presence of a single Medfly in Corona. State agriculture officials said that if the fly is not eradicated in Corona it could spread to rich farmlands and threaten the state’s $18-billion agricultural industry.

The judge said that Wilson acted properly and that malathion did not pose a risk to the public’s health.

The city’s appeal to the 4th District Court of Appeals was rejected after that court said the need to eradicate the pest was obvious. Tuesday morning, the state Supreme Court in San Francisco refused to review the case. And later in the day, the city was again rebuked by Riverside Superior Court Judge Vincent Miceli when it argued that the state’s notice of the spraying was too ambiguous.

Mayor Bill Miller said he talked to Wilson late Tuesday afternoon but failed to win a last-minute reprieve. Miller said he was resigned to the aerial spraying but worried about any possible long-term health effects. “I don’t want Corona to be the example of the case study 20 years from now,” he said.

Miller spent part of the evening at the local National Guard armory, opened to shelter the homeless from the spraying.

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

The concentration was half that used in 1989-90 when more than 500 square miles of Southern California were targeted for aerial malathion spraying. Officials believed then that they had gotten rid of the pest, but it reappeared in 1991.

Japan and other export markets have threatened to boycott California citrus and other produce vulnerable to the Medfly if the infestation spreads.

To battle the current Medfly 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 also blanket Corona, so the aerial spraying was a necessary last resort.

From eight to 10 aerial applications are scheduled in the next four months by the state and federal Cooperative Medfly Project to rid Corona of the Mediterranean fruit fly.