Please email and leave phone messages TODAY!
Dear Supporters,
We are at an important milestone with regards to AB99, the California State Bill that would reform the way Caltrans uses pesticides for roadside vegetation management.
You all have seen the numerous posts and calls to actions over the years. Thank you for all of your actions and support that have goten us to where we are today. It would not have happened without you!
If you have not yet voiced your support for AB99 with the Senate Appropriations Committee this month TODAY IS YOUR DAY. Please call or email the committee members below. You only have to state your support, but of course, feel free to add in why the bill is important to you and your community if you are so inclined.
I also wanted to share some supporting research on Caltrans' pesticide use to provide additional information on why this bill is so important, not just for our community but for the transparency and accountability of our State's government in general. I hope you find these points interesting and compelling.
1. In Caltrans' 1992 EIR they planned to reduce pesticide use by 50% in 2000 and 80% in 2012! Unfortunately, Caltrans' pesticide use since then has only increased. AB99 would help Caltrans meet this original goal presented by Caltrans' staff. They knew it was possible then and it is still possible now! A link to the 1999 EIR is provided below:
2. Below is some compeling information provided in public testimony by Patty Clary (Californians for Alternatives to Toxics) regarding research her organization has done comparing Caltrans' pesticide use in different Caltrans Regions throughout California. There is evidence here that Caltrans may be grossly over purchasing and overusing pesticides. It follows that Caltrans may be open to lawsuits if AB99 does not pass. From Ms. Clary:
"Last year Caltrans used 420,842 pounds of herbicide statewide to clear vegetation adjacent to its highways. But in Humboldt and Mendocino counties, zero pounds of herbicide were used. At the request of boards of supervisors, cities and tribes, Caltrans has refrained from using herbicides in the two counties since 1989.
We estimate that in 34 years since 1989, Caltrans applied 12 to 14 million pounds of herbicidal compounds, with applications in every California county except those with a desert environment, or Humboldt and Mendocino.
In one county with 183 state highway miles within its borders, 14,372 pounds of herbicide were used in 2022— a rate of 92 pounds per highway mile. In another county where herbicide-free IPM vegetation management is practiced on county roadsides, Caltrans nevertheless applied 6,341 pounds of herbicide along 257 miles of state highway, a rate of 24.7 pounds per mile. In other counties the rate is 42 pounds per highway mile, or is at rates of 12, 39, or 66 pounds per mile, and so on. This inconsistent and unsafe management style would be cured by an IPM policy as envisioned by AB99."
This also provides an example of how Caltrans will save money by enacting AB99. It shows that if Caltrans is able to standardize a consistent pesticide application rate throughout their districts (with similar environments, road types, growing conditions, etc.) they would absolutely purchase (and spray) orders of magnitude less pesticides. Imagine the cost savings if the majority of Districts purchased and applied half of the pesticides that they do now.
3. Below is a link to a document comparing Caltrans' pesticide use in Sonoma County with roadside pesticide use by Sonoma County Agencies. Again, one can see that on roads with similar conditions in the same growing region orders of magnitude more pesticides and more types of pesticides are used by Caltrans. Fewer types of chemicals also means a lower toxicity, as chemicals often react synergistically to increase toxicity when they are combined.
Thank you everyone for your support in getting AB99 to this important finish line! Regardless of what happens with AB99 in the Senate, rest assured that our work has already changed Caltrans operations drastically. One small local example is that Caltrans has not sprayed CA-116 for two years, since our advocacy began. This is one small example of the BIG changes all of our work has catalyzed. I look forward to seeing what more will unfold.
Warm regards,
Megan Kaun
Director, Sonoma SASS
Member, Healthy Highways Coalition
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Senate Appropriations Committee Emails:
**Address email to both senator and Chief of Staff
Senator Anna Caballero
Chief of Staff Luis A. Quinonez
Capitol Office:(916) 651-4014
Senator Angelique Ashby
Chief of Staff Cassidy Denny
Phone — (916) 651-4008
Senator Josh Becker
Chief of Staff Bryan King
Phone: (916) 651-4013
Senator Steven Bradford
Chief of Staff Carolyn McIntyre
Phone: (916) 651-4035
Senator Aisha Wahab
Chief of Staff Nurges Gheyszada
Phone: (916) 651-4410
Please also call or emailing Senator Mike McGuire's office to thank him for co-sponsoring AB99 and to tell him why it's important for you that he prioritize pushing AB99 through this important hurdle.
Santa Rosa 707-576-2771
San Rafael 415-479-6612
Sacramento 916-651-4002
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