State to Hear Public on Ant Eradication

A little-publicized hearing today may help direct how the state government decides to combat the red imported fire ant, a much-hated pest that has invaded parts of Orange County.

One approach getting serious attention is the use of planes or helicopters to apply a growth-inhibiting pesticide in hopes of curbing ant reproduction. Some fear this step could provoke a public outcry like the protest over the spraying of malathion to fight the Mediterranean fruit fly in recent years.

The five-hour administrative hearing in Santa Ana this afternoon will be the only official opportunity Orange County residents have to speak out before the state Department of Food and Agriculture unveils its fire-ant plan, expected by the end of this month.

The department has not sent out notices to the general public of today’s hearing. And local officials with key government agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the regional water board, said they were not notified of the hearing.

State agriculture spokesman Oscar Hidalgo said hearing notices were sent to a variety of public officials as well as affected industries and cities. The state has also met privately with representatives of the Fish and Wildlife Service, other government agencies and environmental groups, he said.

But the department sees the hearing as only a “procedural” step, Hidalgo acknowledged.

“We are not going to present a plan of action,” he said, adding that more public hearings likely will follow when a control plan is made public. “We’re going to gather information from the public on the red fire ant problem in Orange County,” he said.

The hearing was requested by County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who said he acted after learning that without the hearing, residents would have no chance to comment before the agriculture department gains “police powers” to eradicate the pest.

“What this hearing will accomplish is that it gives everyone, including myself, a chance to express concerns about eradication efforts,” Spitzer said Tuesday. “My goal all along in this process is to do what it takes to eradicate the fire ant--in an environmentally safe way.”

The discovery last autumn that fire ants have infested at least 50 square miles of Orange County has led to a countywide quarantine and worries that the area will serve as a stepping stone for the ant to invade the rest of the West Coast.

The South American native already has infested 10 Southeastern states and Texas. Its fiery sting can injure wildlife and livestock and even be fatal to those few people allergic to its bite.

Such concerns have prompted talk of trying to eradicate the ant from Orange County altogether, using a pesticide that works as a kind of birth control. The chemical could be applied from the air or on the ground.

Supporters of such a plan include some nursery owners--whose products are now regulated by the quarantine--and some biologists who fear fire ants will attack and kill ground-nesting birds and other wildlife.

Others worry the state is rushing pell-mell into a pesticide attack without sufficient study.

“Take the time to find out what’s going on,” said Pete DeSimone of the National Audubon Society. “Let’s not be Henny-Pennies here.”

Orange County environmental leader Elisabeth Brown worries that other insects could be affected by aerial controls. “Aerial bombing of the stuff--I’m completely opposed to that,” she said.

Today’s public hearing technically deals with providing agricultural officials with the authority to control or eradicate fire ants in Orange County.

“It means that if we need to, and the option is chosen to do a treatment, then we have the power to do it” without waiting six months, Hidalgo said.

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Chance to Speak

The state Department of Food and Agriculture will hold a hearing this afternoon on ways to combat the red imported fire ant:

Where: County Hall of Administration, Board Hearing Room, 10 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana

When: 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Information: DFA public affairs office, (916) 654-0462

POINTER: Public hearing is today