Pesticide Use Near School Stopped

A Ventura County judge has temporarily barred a citrus grower from spraying pesticides on his orchards in east Ventura after toxic chemicals drifted onto a neighboring elementary school last fall.

During a hearing Friday, Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh rejected arguments from lawyers who said a ban would cause $1 million in crop losses to the grower.

Attorney Archie Clarizio argued that his client, Dan Campbell, planned to spray a block of avocados in the next few weeks and would suffer irreparable harm if not allowed to proceed. Co-counsel Michael Goldfarb called the ban an infringement on property rights.

But Walsh wasn’t swayed.

“I think you are giving me a doomsday scenario,” the judge said. He granted a temporary restraining order against the avocado and lemon farmer and set a June 8 hearing to determine whether to grant a preliminary injunction.

The order comes a day after Ventura County prosecutors sued Campbell and his foreman, Raul Adame, for allegedly violating state codes regulating pesticide application and air quality.

The lawsuit cites a Nov. 8 incident in which Campbell allegedly allowed the pesticide Lorsban to drift onto the campus of Mound Elementary School, located across the street from his 200-acre property.

Two students were sent home and dozens of others complained of dizziness, headaches and nausea following the early morning pesticide application.

A joint investigation was launched by the Ventura County agricultural commissioner, district attorney’s office and Air Pollution Control District. After six months of conducting chemical tests and interviewing witnesses, prosecutors filed a civil action.

On Friday, Walsh told attorneys he believed the case could be resolved without compromising the health of children or Campbell’s right to farm his land.

“Agriculture has been part of this county long before any of us were here,” Walsh said, noting that Mound school has been around for decades as well. “There are just going to have to be compromises on both sides.”

Campbell faces up to $40,000 in fines and restrictions on how he applies pesticides in the future. However, his lawyers believe they have strong legal grounds on which to fight the lawsuit.

Speaking after the hearing, Clarizio said that pesticide swabs taken after the Nov. 8 drift showed insignificant chemical levels and suggest there was no serious health risk to children.

He also said the injunction sought by prosecutors would put restrictions on Campbell that are not required under state law, such as notifying the school before spraying or not being allowed to spray during school hours.

“We have an excellent legal position,” he said.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Brose, also speaking after the hearing, disputed the factual and legal arguments raised by the defense.

He said swabs taken from a classroom window and other sites show chemicals drifted onto the campus. The swabs were tested by three labs, Brose said, and prosecutors obtained declarations from a deputy agricultural commissioner and a physician who both concluded the exposure to children was “unacceptable.”

As for the injunction, Brose acknowledged it would impose regulations not required under state law. But he said the court has broad authority to impose such rules if a defendant has violated state law.