Coastal Commission This Morning Considers Delaying Malibu Poison Ban – Wildlife Suffer While Bureaucrats Make Changes
Written by 991KBU on September 10, 2020
Malibu’s plan to ban rat poison … weed killers and other chemicial pesticides and herbicides goes before the California Coastal Commission today … and it is expected to be delayed.
Bureaucrats at the Coastal Commission think it is more important to do a little tinkering with the poison ban … rather than immediately stop the poisoning of animals like mountain lions and coyotes.
Malibu activists have been working for years to get around a state law … passed after lobbying by big chemical companies.
The law prohibits local governments from banning rat poison … bad for business.
But the Coastal Commission is part of state government … and the state government is allowed to ban pesticides or herbicides.
Thus … Malibu is asking the Coastal Commission to change the Local Coastal Plan to ban the poison.
Coastal is expected to go along.
But now … their staff says they want to make some small changes in the Malibu proposal.
In effect… they want the poisoning of wildlife in Malibu to continue … while the bureaucracy takes another one year to analyze things.
Malibu officials say they expect only a few minor … technical changes to the plan.
The Malibu poison ban is number 13 on today’s agenda.
And this is a case where the COVID crisis has a positive angle.
Malibu residents no longer have to drive as far as Eureka or San Diego to testify before the coastal Commission.
They can testify on the Zoom platform: https://www.coastal.ca.gov/meetings/agenda/#/2020/9
As of 10:15 am … the Commission was at item 9.