Advocates call for early notification from ag commissioners of pesticide spraying

María Reyes is not a person to take no for an answer, especially when it comes to protecting the health of her children.

Two months ago, the 40-year-old citrus picker from Cutler-Orosi used Zoom to request that Tulare County Ag Commissioner Tom Tucker to post information online about when and where pesticides will be sprayed so that communities can prepare.

The answer was no.

Greer told The Fresno Bee that counties operate off of state standards. Those regulations would need to be changed to comply with the request by advocates, he said.

On May 27, Reyes showed up at the ag commissioner’s office with the same message during a rally with Californians for Pesticide Reform.

Advocates held press conferences in Modesto, Shafter, Salinas and Tulare, as well as a virtual news conference.

“This requires not one second more work for them,” said Reyes in Spanish at the rally before handing a petition to Christopher Greer, the assistant ag commissioner, who said Tucker was out of the office.

“Currently, ag commissioners only inform after, when the damage has already been done,” said Reyes, a mother of four. “All they have to do is take the notice of intent and post it on the county website.”

Posting the information online would allow families to know they should keep their children indoors or take other preventative measures, said Reyes.

In a February letter to California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Jared Blumenfeld, the Coalition Advocating for Pesticide Safety complained that Tucker’s office questioned the group’s legitimacy and its members.

“Many of our families live near the fields, and we have struggled with health problems such as respiratory problems, learning difficulties in our children, headaches, to name a few,” the coalition explained to Blumenfeld.

Reyes is the president of the coalition.

Her effort is part of a statewide campaign to convince county ag commissioners to post online about what, when and where hazardous pesticides will be applied.

“By refusing to provide advance information about pesticide spray, our county has chosen to shield the ag industry from scrutiny instead of protecting public health. It’s as simple as that,” said Lupita González, a Lindsay mother whose house is surrounded by treated fields.

“This information is available, and can easily be posted online. It’s time to demand that public information that affects our health be made public.”

Help might be coming from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who earmarked $10 million in his revised budget for the state Department of Pesticide Regulation to develop a statewide notification on regulation.

However, public advocates say the legislative process could stretch to 2024.

“There’s no need to delay justice,” said Ángel García, organizing director of Californians for Pesticide Reform.

A previous department effort in 2016 to develop a notification rule was scuttled under heavy opposition from the ag industry.

Paulina Torres, staff attorney with the Delano-based Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, said the state should require county agricultural commissioners to post notices of intent (NOIs) in advance on a public website.

“Since no burden would be placed on growers and pesticide applicators, no regulation is needed,” said Torres. “The time to require more transparency is now, not years from now.”