By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews.com
The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld a lower-court ruling that invalidated an initiative banning aerial spraying of pesticides in Lincoln County.
The ruling this week came less than one month after a three-judge panel of the appeals court heard arguments from both sides in a case that tested whether local and county jurisdictions have the authority to preempt state laws.
The case stems from May 2017, when Lincoln County voters narrowly approved an ordinance banning aerial spraying of pesticides by businesses on foreland they owned in the county.
Ordinance 21-177 marked the first time in the country that a county had passed such a measure.
Almost immediately after the measure passed, Newport resident Rex Capri and Wakefield Farms of Eddyville filed a lawsuit to stop implementation of the ban.
That lawsuit led to a ruling in 2019, in which Lincoln County Circuit Judge Sheryl Bachart held that the county ordinance was pre-empted by a state statute that both allows aerial spraying of pesticides on forests and prevents local governments from enforcing any ordinance or regulation governing pesticide sale or use.
Lincoln County was listed as the primary defendant in the case, although the bulk of the effort to uphold the aerial spray ban was conducted by lawsuit intervener Lincoln County Community Rights.
Debra Fant, a board member of the group, said she was disappointed with the ruling. She also criticized the court’s decision to continue oral arguments even after it was clear that the attorney representing Lincoln County Community Rights’ microphone was continually cutting out during online arguments.
“At this time we have considerations to explore for our next steps which could include (appealing) to the Oregon Supreme Court,” she said in a statement to YachatsNews. “But we want to assure the residents of coastal (Oregon) who recognize the damages of aerially sprayed toxic chemicals from their own and community experiences, that we are not finished with standing up for the safety of our lands, water, air and all life who live here.”
County Counsel Wayne Belmont, in a statement after the ruling, said “the decision of the Court of Appeals coincided directly with position taken by the county in defending this matter.” He added that the decision to affirm without opinion represented a complete determination that Bachart’s rulings stand as issued.
“I am pleased that the Court of Appeals both recognized the rule of law underpinning Judge Bachart’s decision and rejected the challenges to the local initiative process and the scope of the County’s authority to consider matters of concern.”
His latter comments referred to plaintiff Capri’s position that the spray-ban measure should never have gone to voters in the first place.
