As many of you know, we have a serious problem with rodenticides. These dangerous chemicals, are harmful to our environment and our pets, and are killing wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Local activist, Kian Schulman of Poison Free Malibu has been leading the ban for close to a decade.
We need the community’s participation by Monday, whether in person, or taking a few moments to write an email to Council regarding the Earth Friendly Management Policy:
“The Malibu city clerk that Poison Free Malibu’s Earth Friendly Management policy will be considered at a meeting of the Environmental Sustainability Subcommittee this coming Monday, May 13 at 2 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
I hope you will have time to be there on such late notice.
Please come to the meeting to support it with a short comment, 3 minutes at most. Please request that Poison Free Malibu’s Earth Friendly Management policy be adopted, not the city staff’s version which encourages the return of synthetic pesticides. Organic pesticides should be the only ones considered under emergency conditions.
The city policy is still not finalized!
Poison Free Malibu’s policy is in the pdf file attached, PFM_EFM Policy.pdf.
The city’s October 8, 2018 revision is in pdf file Staff Proposed EFM Policy.pdf.
On May 4, 2018 after a two year CEQA study at the cost of $38,400, the PFM Earth Friendly Management policy was reviewed by
Michael Baker International declaring that the PFM Earth Friendly Management policy would result in less than significant adverse environmental effects and a mitigated negative declaration was made.
Ignoring this conclusion, on October 8, 2018 the city presented a ANOTHER, Pesticide Use Policy, including the return of the synthetic chemical pesticides, eliminating several essential building blocks of a green policy, and requesting bringing back killing squirrels in the park!
This meeting will determine the policy going forward.
Thank you!
I. Earth Friendly Management Review
The first integrated pest management (IPM) policy for the city of Malibu was initiated in October 2013 at the request of PFM.
Previous to this there was no transparent policy to guide the Parks and Rec. Dept. They used whatever pesticide they wanted with no public accountability.
This first IPM policy HAD the skeleton of what IPM is about. However, this basic skeleton was ignored.
A public records request in 2016 was submitted and reply received for the previous 4 years. We totaled the amount of pesticides that were used on public areas. It was determined that the city was using MORE pesticides since the IPM policy was initiated, not less.
A public records request in 2016 was submitted and reply received for the previous 4 years. We totaled the amount of pesticides that were used on public areas. It was determined that the city was using MORE pesticides since the IPM policy was initiated, not less.
An uproar from the local citizens requested that the harmful pesticides be stopped.
For example, here is a photo of a girl on a bike in Legacy Park next to a man with a hazmat outfit on spraying herbicides.
II. EFM Policy History at City Meetings
• May 17, 2016
The Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed the October 2013 IPM Policy.
Poison Free Malibu gave detailed input. Reported recent pesticide use.
• June 27, 2016
City Council Meeting.
Councilmember Peak moved a motion to direct staff to: 1) immediately discontinue the use of pesticides on all City-owned parks, roads, and property, and remove traps at Bluffs Park; and 2) bring back an Earth Friendly Management Policy. The motion passed unanimously.
The large utility boxes that were part of the trapping system and scattered around Bluffs Park were never removed.
• December 1, 2016
Craig George Earth Friendly Management Policy (Pesticide Use Policy) finished.
It included synthetic pesticides!
• April 24, 2017
City Council meeting.
Mayor Peak moved a motion to:
1) authorize the City Manager to execute an Agreement with Michael Baker International, Inc. for the preparation of an initial study the of PFM Earth Friendly Management Policy banning all use of pesticides; and
2) appropriate $38,400 from the General Fund Undesignated Reserve.
The motion passed unanimously.
• January 22, 2018
Environmental Sustainability Subcommittee meeting.
Recommended to the City Council concerning the adoption of an ordinance amending Chapter 8.32 of Title 8 of the Malibu Municipal Code (MMC) addressing the requirements of locking lids on rubbish and garbage, market waste, and rendering containers.
Environmental Sustainability Subcommittee meeting.
Recommended to the City Council concerning the adoption of an ordinance amending Chapter 8.32 of Title 8 of the Malibu Municipal Code (MMC) addressing the requirements of locking lids on rubbish and garbage, market waste, and rendering containers.
We are still waiting for this new ordinance.
• May 4, 2018
The CEQA review was completed by Michael Baker International declaring PFM Earth Friendly Management policy would result in less than significant adverse environmental effects and a mitigated negative declaration was declared.
In the CEQA Review section 8 Hazards and Hazardous Materials, it states
c) No Impact. The proposed EFMP specifically prohibits the use of dangerous toxic chemical products, as listed in the project description on page 8. The proposed EFMP would not authorize use of hazardous materials or wastes within one-quarter mile of a school. If the Council decided to allow application of organic pesticides under special circumstances, such as when there are compelling issues involving public health or safety or substantial economic detriment as contemplated by Poison Free Malibu, this would still be a more restrictive approach than the IPM. No impact would occur.
• October 8, 2018
City staff proposed another “Pesticide Use Policy “ with clauses that require going back to the banned pesticides, dropping the Oversight Committee, the Precautionary Principle, any reference to using organic products and many other important clauses.
City Council meeting. Mayor Mullen moved and Councilmember La Monte seconded a motion to refer review of the staff proposed Earth Friendly Management Policy (EFMP), suggested changes by Poison Free Malibu, and the draft EFMP originally submitted by Poison Free Malibu to the Environmental Sustainability Subcommittee.
• January 14, 2019
Item 7A of the agenda was on Commission appointments.
Kian proposed a new Environmental Commission. All agreed.
Mayor Jefferson says, “give us a couple months.”
• April 8, 2019
Environmental Sustainability Subcommittee meeting to consider PFM Earth Friendly Management policy and comments on Jesse Bobbett’s Pesticide Use Policy version canceled.
III. Summary
In the Malibu city staff report for the October 8, 2018 city council, comments received are discussed including an inquiry concerning what input was received from other government stakeholders. The staff response reveals that three cities, Pebble Beach Resorts, a Palos Verdes Conservancy, a public botanical garden and two counties replied to the city’s request for input.
Poison Free Malibu reviewed documents from MANY more, including 43 pesticide free policies from across the nation and even international policies.
Also reviewed were recommendations from Beyond pesticides, PAN Pesticide Action Network, NCAP North West Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, The Rodale Institute, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, NRDC Natural Resources Defense Council, Californians for Pesticide Reform, California Public Interest Research Group, Pesticide Watch, California Department of Public Health, the California Healthy Schools Act and many other preservation groups.
We also consulted with Dr. Stephen Frantz, research pathobiologist, and IPM consultant. His recommendation letter is reproduced below.
The PFM EFM policy that was presented to the city council on April 24, 2017 and that received a negative declaration from CEQA review was ultimately ignored.
Councilmember Peak specifically directed that an organic program be established at the June 27, 2016 city council meeting.
See http://malibu.granicus.
There is not one word mentioned in the proposed policy in the October 8, 2018 Staff Report that considers organic selections.
In fact in section III. B. 5 the Policy states that emergency circumstances could have occurred that “required the use of synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, herbicides, insecticides or rodenticides.”
The PFM EFM Policy specifies organic only to be used only under emergencies.
In particular how could there possibly be a public emergency to use a synthetic fertilizer?
The staff proposed version ignored many other critical guidelines and strategies.
See the following email, Comments on the staff proposed Pesticide Use Policy, for more detail.
The PFM submitted EFM policy mandates an Environmental Commission and an Oversight Committee to be in control, to implement and to review the policy. The City Council by unanimous vote agreed to establish an Environmental Commission.
IV. Dr. Stephen Frantz letter
From: Stephen Frantz <frantzs@mac.com>
Subject: FOR: October 8 Malibu City Council Item 5A Earth Friendly Management Policy
Date: October 8, 2018 at 4:53:43 PM PDT
Dear City Council:
I would like to express my support for the original Earth Friendly Management (EFM) policy that went through the Environmental Impact Report review process. The new staff proposed version eliminates essential requirements and allows unnecessary synthetic pesticides. The proposals for EFM state that the City was using IPM prior to the City Council decision to stop using synthetic pesticides. That “IPM” program was a sham, basically a system of how to integrate pesticides regardless of what they were or the unintended impact on biology; in essence, it was “IPM” as designed by the pest control industry. In fact, they were using glyphosate (Roundup)! I commented on this in a letter to the editor of the Malibu Times. Remember, to a very large degree, the pest control industry makes its profit on repeat business and the use of mostly synthetic pesticides; actually solving pest problems is not their primary focus.
The EFM program that I’ve worked on with Kian Schulman is designed to solve pest problems, that is, to eliminate the problem with little need to return to a site except for occasional monitoring that would have increasingly long periods between visits as a problem is eliminated; in the long run this also saves money. The various interventions proposed by EFM result in permanent changes in the factors that support pest population growth. Human behavioral change is a key class of interventions, that is, people need to behave in ways that do not provide food, water, or shelter for pest species. The emphasis on exclusion and general sanitation are important to suppress many pest species, indoors and outdoors. For example with rats and mice, dumpsters and other garbage containers must never be overflowing and must have tight-fitting lids that are kept closed. Dumpsters must also have the drain plug in place (except when cleaning the containers and the need to drain water), otherwise it’s an entry point for various pest species. Clearly, this is not rocket science, it is logical (aka — “bio-logical”); if pest species are denied access to the resources that would sustain their population growth, they move away and/or die off by attrition.
The EFM program has it right on the selection of low-toxic pesticides (remember any substance created to repel, negatively affect or kill a pest species is a pesticide by definition), but the situation that might call for more toxic synthetic pesticides is not likely to occur in Malibu. And should some event or situation occur that raises concern, it should be decided by an expert panel of 5 – 7 individuals (I forget the exact number Kian and I discussed, but 3 is not adequate). Adherence to the EFM low toxic solutions should apply across the board to ALL City-owned and operated property regardless of who manages it. Otherwise the risks of accidental intoxication of children, animals and the environment are not eliminated. Remember, it’s not just acute poisoning we must worry about, it’s also chronic poisoning, and toxicants such as endocrine disruptors that do not follow a linear toxicity curve (that is, damage can occur at very very low doses), and also those toxicants that bioaccumulate with increasing damage over time (glyphosate is an example of both). In fact, glyphosate is a good example that fully supports the EFM as originally conceived (NOT the altered version by the City).
Let’s look at this example: Glyphosate (Roundup) was in use by the City, the Unified School District, fully approved by the CA agencies and the EPA — no one was doing due diligence in investigating what the chemical does, or they were ignoring the independent science, or they were being financially rewarded for doing nothing. This has all changed in the last five years, and we know of considerable morbidity and mortality that can be attributed to glyphosate, including cancer. Exceedingly small amounts of a pesticide can have a significant biological impact. And our very recent court success in San Francisco ($289 million awarded to the plaintiff dying from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma attributed to glyphosate) supported all of our independent scientific efforts on at least one of the toxicological consequences of glyphosate.
Importantly, the use of a pesticide that is later shown to cause significant harm not only impacts the health of those individuals affected, but exposes companies and government bodies to litigation that could bankrupt such organizations. Is a city such as Malibu willing to risk the health of its people, animals and environment to unintended intoxication, as well as face future litigation of unknown proportions?I think the EFM as originally proposed offers the scientifically best solutions to pest problems and should prevent adverse health or other negative consequences in the future.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience (T: 413.233.6407; M: 413.233.6407).
Very sincerely.
Dr. Stephen C. Frantz
Email: frantzs@mac.com
Research Pathobiologist
Global Environmental Options, LLC
If you cannot attend the Monday 2 pm meeting, could you please send an email in support to the two subcommittee members, Mayor Jefferson Wagner and Councilmember Skylar Peak:
Peak Skylar <speak@malibucity.org>
Wagner Jefferson <jwagner@malibucity.org>
A simple request is fine, such as:
“Please support Poison Free Malibu’s Earth Friendly Management Policy. It is the best way to ensure that there will be no toxic chemical pesticides used on Malibu city property, including and parks and ballfields, that endangers our children, pets, and wildlife.“
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