Lawmakers oppose ban on mosquito spraying

YALIMA, Wash. -- Central Washington lawmakers want environmental officials to reconsider a proposed ban on spraying for adult mosquitoes near water, or at least to take more public comments before making a final decision.

Twenty House Republicans have sent letters to the state Department of Ecology asking it to allow more time for public input before imposing new rules that would only allow mosquito control districts to spray for adult mosquitoes when there's evidence the insects are carrying disease, such as West Nile virus.

Ultimately, the lawmakers want rules flexible enough to allow mosquito districts to spray any mosquitoes, even if they are regarded as mere nuisance bugs.

"This is not something I think we should be messing around with," said Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee.

To comply with the federal Clean Water Act, the Department of Ecology has proposed a new permitting process restricting spraying to avoid polluting the state's lakes and streams.

The rules would not restrict the use of larval control chemicals, considered less toxic to aquatic life. But some critics argue that it's impossible to kill all the larva, no matter how aggressive the spraying.

West Nile has been repeatedly detected in birds, horses and people in the Prosser and Grandview areas. Last fall, there were at least 30 confirmed cases of the virus in people in Yakima and Benton counties. One 71-year-old Sunnyside woman died from the disease, although it's not clear where she contracted the illness.

The Ecology Department held one public meeting about the issue last week in Moses Lake and extended the original comment period by one week to Wednesday.

Lawmakers want another 30 days for people to weigh in and public meetings held throughout Eastern Washington, Taylor said.

Central Washington representatives Bruce Chandler, Norm Johnson, Charles Ross, Bill Hinkle and Judy Warnick joined Taylor in signing the letters.

Bill Moore, manager of development services for the Ecology Department's water quality program in Olympia, said his agency is considering the request, but has not made a final decision on opening a second comment period or revising proposed rules and starting all over again.

Either way, he warned that with spring right around the corner, delays could make it even harder for districts to control mosquitoes by any method.

"All of those options have consequences," he said.

* Ross Courtney can be reached at 509-930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.