Minutes of the Board of Trustees – Thursday, May 14, 2009.
1. Roll Call:
Present: President, Evan Long; Secretary, Belen Gomez; Bette George; Harold Dozier and Bruce Myers.
Staff: Manager, Michael Alburn.
2. Approval of April Minutes:
It was moved by Harold Dozier, seconded by Bruce Myers, and unanimously carried that the Minutes of the April meeting be approved as mailed.
3. Approval of April Bills:
Following discussion, it was moved by Harold Dozier, seconded by Bette George, and unanimously carried that the April Bills be approved as mailed. See: Board Order to disburse funds No. 21, Exhibit I.
4. Approval of April Bills:
Following discussion, it was moved by Bruce Myers, seconded by Belen Gomez, and unanimously carried that the April Bills (2) be approved as mailed. See: Board Order to disburse funds No. 22, Exhibit II.
5. Approval of May Payroll:
Following discussion, it was moved by Bruce Myers, seconded by Bette George, and unanimously carried that the May Payroll be approved as submitted. See: Board Order to disburse funds No. 23, Exhibit III.
6. Public Forum:
None.
7. Operational Report:
The Manager reported on the following items:
Swimming Pool surveillance will add approximately 225 plus new sources to create a route of 1000.
Bus siding has been placed on VCC, soon to be on the TC bus. Will be kicking off PSA campaign for radio play and other opportunities centered on WNV and neglected pools over the next month.
Trapping mosquitoes in areas where we are finding clusters of green swimming pools. We have not seen a large number of dead birds being called in, but Fresno has had 2 positive crows.
Del Monte and the City of Kingsburg held a meeting with local mosquito control districts and regional water quality control staff to go over a plan for irrigation this summer at the Kingsburg gun club.
Catch basin vehicle in service in Visalia. We estimate a 30-day turn around, one man operation, discontinuing the practice of pulling the entire House mosquito crew in for 5-7 days, putting us behind in those source inspections.
Weed crew is operating on a 20-day turn around. All sites are reported to be in very good condition regarding emergent vegetation. City of Dinuba dropped service after pre emergent treatment was completed. We will let Ed Todd (City Manager) know our issues with that action.
Kaweah Rock has been treated by hand twice, normally use aircraft. Kings River pretreated island at Royal Oak.
Ditch water will be available by the weekend. Various dates, but the waterways are all filling as we speak.
Senior Day in the Park at Mooney Grove Sat. May 16, 8 – 1:00. A gift bag drawing is being used to gather contact information for future communication with interested parties.
8. Clean Water Act:
The Manager reported on the Clean Water Act, National Cotton Council v. EPA.
Mosquito control programs face potentially devastating costs and reductions in service following a January 2009 decision in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals involving the CWA. Mosquito districts are facing lawsuit threats; the initiation of duplicative, expensive, and unneeded new regulations; that run the risk of ruinous legal expenses, putting the public health at significant risk while providing no environmental benefits.
The EPA regulates pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and has never required National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits under the CWA for the use of pesticides.
Beginning in 2001, federal courts ruled that some pesticide applications constitute “pollutant discharges” under CWA and therefore require NPDES permits. These decisions led to suits alleging that mosquito control agencies violate the CWA by discharging pesticides into “waters of the US” without NPDES permits. The plaintiffs have sought injunctions, large civil penalties, and attorney fees.
EPA was petitioned to clarify the relationship between CWA and FIFRA. EPA responded by issuing a Final Rule in 2006 reaffirming that the use of pesticides registered for mosquito control and for some other aquatic uses does not constitute a “pollutant discharge” under CWA if the FIFRA label is followed. This is a reasonable interpretation, as these materials are already evaluated and regulated under FIFRA for this type of use. EPA’s Final Rule has been an effective defense for mosquito control programs facing CWA lawsuits.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in January 2009 struck down the Final Rule and held that almost all pesticide applications near water require NPDES permits and the monitoring programs that accompany them. Numerous groups have requested reconsideration, or, at least, additional time to develop regulatory guidance.
The new EPA Administrator has not vigorously defended the Final Rule nor issued any clear statements on how EPA will regulate mosquitocides and other aquatic pesticides, leaving mosquito control programs unsure for how to legally deliver needed public services, and vulnerable to lawsuits. Since the January 2009 decision at least 45 districts have been threatened with CWA lawsuits for not having permits, leading to significant legal expenses and the potential need to terminate critical public health programs in the face of litigation.
The California State Water Resources Board has no adult mosquito control permit and does not expect one to be available this year. A permit for larval control does exist.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has a motion to rehear the case before it. A decision will be made before the Court considers an EPA request for a 24-month stay to set up a permit process.
As long as the 6th Circuit Court has these issues before it, the EPA Final Rule is in place. Districts can use the EPA Final Rule as a reasonable defense. Districts would have seven days to comply if everything went negative.
Delta Vector Control District is operating under an NPDES Permit for larviciding. Because no adulticide permit exists treatments to control adult mosquito populations will have to be evaluated for possible entry into waters of the U.S. before executing such control. No public health exemptions exist for the CWA therefore, an epidemic condition of mosquito-borne virus affecting the human population would not be factor in any evaluation of adult mosquito control.
9. Closed Session §54957.8:
The meeting was closed to the public at 7:30p.m. for case review/ planning.
The meeting was reopened to the public at 8:05p.m.
10. VCJPA:
The Manager reported that the District had failed to pass a required Resolution to join the Vector Control Joint Power Authority (VCJPA) last summer. It was moved by Bruce Myers, seconded by Bette George and unanimously carried to approve Resolution 09-01.
11. California Mosquito-Borne Virus Surveillance & Response Plan 2009:
The Manager provided a description of the California Department of Public Health document that gives instructions to agencies involved in control. Specifics regarding surveillance factors, characterizing conditions and anticipated response were discussed and reviewed. It was moved by Bette George, seconded by Harold Dozier and unanimously carried to approve the response plan for 2009.
12. MVCAC Quarterly Board of Directors Meeting, Visalia, May 7-8:
The Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California held it’s spring board of directors meeting at the Marriot in Visalia, May 7-8, a result of the Delta Vector Control General Manager’s request as South San Joaquin Valley Representative on the Board.
The board heard information regarding NPDES adulticide permits, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recent decision in National Cotton Council Vs EPA, as well as information from standing committees of the association.
Many compliments regarding the community were made as well as a good deal of spending, which surely provided a stimulus for our local businesses.
13. Trustee Corporate Board Contact:
The MVCAC Regional Trustee Representative, Pete Esraelian, Consolidated MAD has asked for each district to provide a trustee contact so he can discuss Association Trustee business. Mr. Esraelian would like to be a true representative, so he wants the named individual to be interested and active. It was moved by Bette George, seconded by Belen Gomez and unanimously carried to appoint Board President Evan Long as the trustee representative.
14. Research Project:
The Manager reported that each year the District provides an unrestricted grant of $2,500 to the California Mosquito Control Association’s Research Foundation. This year the District would like to restrict the funds to the Kearney Research lab in Parlier so that methoprene resistance testing can be performed against Aedes populations from within Delta Vector Control District. The total cost is $2,640 for three population sites. The benefit of the research is that we can see how rotation is working to maintain efficacy or how long we will have until we can use the product again without spreading resistance. Several fields have developed resistance and we need to be careful to protect the adjacent sources so that effective and lasting mosquito control can occur. Following the discussion, it was moved by Bruce Myers, seconded by Harold Dozier and unanimously carried to approve the grant as presented by the Manager.
15. State Budget:
The Manager reported that given the predicted election polling it appears that the Governor will declare a fiscal emergency allowing for a take of property tax money from local government. The expectations are that 8% of property taxes collected in 08/09 will be withheld from 09/10. The state is required to pay interest and to pay the loan back within three years. A plan for paying back is required when taking the money. We expect that we will carry over an amount from 2008/09 fiscal budget that will satisfy this loan to the State of California. Whether the State will come up with another plan or need more money from local government remains to be seen. The Board will be updated as the State works through its budget.
16. Company Outing, May 29, Visalia Rawhide:
The Manager asked for a head count of attending Trustees so he could prepare an Agenda if necessary. The final total was inconclusive. The Manager was to prepare an Agenda if a majority of the Board confirmed attendance.
17. Adjournment:
The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Board Minutes approved on June 10, 2009.
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Michael W. Alburn, Recording Secretary