A few weeks after the final ballots in Lincoln County, Ore., were counted and a slim majority of voters decided to effectively ban aerial application in the county, Rex Capri, a Lincoln County landowner, has filed a lawsuit arguing that a ban on aerial pesticide spraying in the county is preempted by state law. Lincoln County will respond to the lawsuit, but it is still reviewing whether to actively defend the ban, according to its county commissioners.
The county does agree, however, that an injunction should be issued against a provision in the ordinance allowing “direct action” against aerial spraying, which would allow citizens to enforce the law through “direct action” if the county government or court fail to uphold the ordinance. The provision would free “direct action” enforcers from facing criminal or civil liability for their activities. Due to the possibility that “direct action” may result in property damage or physical violence, the county believes the provision should be blocked.
Before the aerial ban was voted upon, the county clerk’s office produced a Lincoln County Voters’ Pamphlet with information on the candidates and measures on the ballot of the May 16 special election. In it, opposing arguments for the aerial pesticide spraying prohibition reasoned that the authorization of “direct action” could open a window to vigilantism and that county funds could be diverted toward lawsuits to protect the measure. “The measure is a direct challenge to the U.S. Constitution, claiming that a county ordinance should supersede state and federal law,” three members of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners said in their pamphlet statement. “The county will face a protracted battle to defend it in the courts and the legal costs that will tradeoff [sic] with funds for county services.”
Activists in nearby Lane County Ore., are working on forming a similar measure to ban aerial spraying. Processes are underway by environmental activists of gathering signatures in the hopes of having them on the May 18, 2018, ballot.
NAAA will keep members up to date on the Oregon aerial ban situation.
