Contact:

Paul Towers, Pesticide Action Network North America: 916-216-1082, [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 24 2013

Advocates Challenge EPA's Continuing Failure to Protect Children and Families from Hazardous Pesticide DriftPublic interest groups urge immediate pesticide protections in areas where children live, learn and play

San Francisco, CA—Today, a coalition of farmworker, public health, and conservation advocates filed a challenge in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect children from unsafe exposures to toxic pesticides.

The suit seeks an answer to a petition that the advocates filed with the agency in 2009, urging EPA to set safety standards protecting children who grow up near farms from the harmful effects of pesticide drift. 

 “It is not acceptable that our own government has so little regard for the health of our children,” said Janette Brimmer, an Earthjustice attorney representing the coalition “The government hasn’t even bothered to prepare a response to our requests.”

Please click here to read more:
http://www.panna.org/press-release/advocates-challenge-epas-continuing-failure-protect-children-and-families-hazardous-pe

Our story has become part of a lawsuit filed by the Pesticide Action network against the EPA.  We are getting some news coverage and you are able to see the destruction that has occurred on the property.  Also, they are building a fence surrounding it so we will not be able to see what is going on behind the fence, a fence adds no protection to our children (Unless its a 50ft planted fence of tress and foliage).

Please click the link to watch the KTV U CBS report. More to come...

http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/sebastapol-environmentalists-sue-epa-for-failing/v7QTk/

It has been raining here and we were concerned with the water runoff that was occurring from the Paul Hobbs Winery orchard conversion.  It was truly amazing to visit the site.  Several people had called into the Water Board and it was feeling like there would not be anyone available until the next day to visit the site, so after researching what the Water Board would require for a sediment sample, we went to collect the samples ourselves.  

Here are some photos from our visit.  The scene was devastating and the dreary rain only expressed the sadness that we felt seeing 40+ acres of dead trees and barren land. Only two weeks ago this space was very alive!

As we were leaving we saw that the Ag Commissioners office and the Water Board had arrived.  We exchanged information and gave them our samples and they seemed to agree that this was not acceptable practices for the construction site.  It is clear that it will be up to us to monitor the conversion and report to the appropriate agencies if we see any violations.  There is not enough staff to make sure the "farmer" is following "the rules". 

Hopefully this is a win for WCA, as we were told the project would be red flagged until the drainage issue was remedied!