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The hotly disputed state aerial spraying program to eradicate the light brown apple moth in Santa Cruz County was derailed today, April 24, when a judge ruled that the program was designed under an improper exception from the California Environmental Quality Act. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick granted a request from Santa Cruz County and the city of Santa Cruz, ruling that the program was not exempt from the requirement for a full-fledged Environmental Impact Report, which could take as long as two years to complete. Burdick ordered California Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura to rescind the “order of exemption” he had ordered for the spray program to go ahead. A packed courtroom of more than 100 spectators burst into thunderous applause and cheers when Burdick made his ruling. The judge, obviously annoyed, raised both his hands in a gesture for silence. The state had planned to start a second round of spraying June 1 after a limited program last year involving CheckMate, a synthetic pheromone. This year’s program had been expanded to include San Lorenzo Valley, which hadn’t been sprayed last year, and all of Scotts Valley, when only a portion of the city was affected last year. Assistant Attorney General William Jenkins, representing the state, indicated he would appeal. He asked Burdick for a “stay” of the ruling to allow time to file the appeal, but the judge declined, saying there was time to file before the June 1 spray date. READ THE COMPLETE STORY IN THE MAY 2 PRESS-BANNER
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