Californians for Pesticide Reform v. Department of Pesticide Regulation

In an effort to evaluate and control potentially hazardous air pollutants, the California Legislature enacted the Toxic Air Contaminants Act (Act), which labels such pollutants “toxic air contaminants” and imposes responsibilities for their identification and control. Under the Act, defendant Department of Pesticide Regulation (Department) is assigned responsibility for assessing the risks of pesticides and determining whether a pesticide should be listed as a toxic air contaminant. The Department is also responsible for determining the need for and adopting measures necessary to control the pesticides that are determined to be toxic air contaminants.

Plaintiff Californians for Pesticide Reform (Reform) challenges the Department’s policy of prioritizing pesticides for risk assessment. Reform filed a petition for writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory relief requesting the court to set aside the Department’s risk assessment process. The trial court denied the petition.

Reform appeals, contending the Department’s process is contrary to the Act, the Department has failed to implement the Act, the process is an underground regulation, and the trial court erred in…