SACRAMENTO – The final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) project has been certified and a notice of determination filed with the State Office of Planning and Research.

The notice and other EIR documents may be viewed by visiting www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PDEP/lbam/envimpactrpt.html .

When certifying the EIR, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) issued a clarification that aerial treatment with moth pheromones is not a management tool in the program.

Additionally, CDFA concurs with the USDA’s recent announcement that the program has shifted from eradication to suppression and control.

The EIR determined that it was unlikely that the approaches in the LBAM program would cause human harm or environmental damage, and found that greater potential for human and environmental harm would come from widespread pesticide use by private parties and organizations in the absence of an LBAM program.

Groups opposed to the spraying, including Stop the Spray East Bay and Mothers of Marin Against Spray disputed the EIR's findings and pointed to nine significant defects in the document, which they outlined in a letter sent earlier this month to US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and CDFA Secretary AG Kawamura.

In addition, the groups asked for an end to the multi-year, multimillion-dollar program.

The approaches evaluated include the use of moth pheromone, organically-approved materials, and sterile moths.

The only two treatment methods being considered currently are the placement of pheromone twist ties on trees and plants, and the release of sterile moths.

The LBAM program will now move forward to evaluate treatment options.