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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 03171987 - S.4 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: Supervisor Tom Torlakson Contra Cost-a DATE: March 17, 1987 Cou II I SUBJECT: PROPOSED ADVANCED GENETIC SCIENCES STUDY ON FROST PROTECTION (FROSTBAN) SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDED ACTION: Consider adopting the position of the Agricultural Advisory Committee on the proposed Frostban Experiment by Advanced Genetic Sciences and receive my report on the study. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: I have met with representatives of Advanced Genetic Sciences and co-sponsored with Brentwood Mayor Catherine Palmer a community forum on the Frostban Study on March 3 , 1987. Please refer to the attached materials for further background. TT:gro Attachments CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: 7;' RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) ACTION OF BOARD ON March 17, 1987 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT I ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE ` AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: Community Development Director ATTESTED '5�V4,f� 17 /?9'7 County AdministratorI e f, of K18 Odit O i ad C e*Admaastrdw Maa2/7•aa BY DEPUTY RESOLUTION NO. 87-14 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BRENTWOOD ALLOW FIELD TRIAL OF FROSTBAN IN BRENTWOOD. WHEREAS, agriculture .is an important component of the economy of the City of Brentwood and the Eastern section of Contra Costa County; and WHEREAS, California agriculture suffers from serious frost damage to. fruit and nut crops; and WHEREAS, FROSTBAN (tm) holds promise as a non-toxic, attractive product for frost protection; and WHEREAS, the federal and state governments and independent academic authorities have reviewed the proposed product and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved its testing in Contra Costa County. NOW, THEREFORE, the City of Brentwood, in the interests of agricultural innovation which has a direct beneficial impact on Brentwood, hereby welcomes Advanced Genetic, Sciences, Inc. to conduct its field trial of FROSTBAN . (tm ) upon the final regulatory approval by appropriate federal and state agencies wherein the regulatory jurisdiction over this matter resides. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Brentwood at its regular. meeting on Tuesday, March 10, 1987 by the following vote: AYES: ]� NOES: v ABSENT: Approved: Cathe 'ne F almer, Mayor Attest- Harry E. G' ll, City Clerk 1•:lnllltl C• 1 1 •--•i I.i • 1 CrM Le Wednesday,March f, IM? Antioch. Cu. .omo Brentwood residents told Frostban is. sof e By Amy Axt Hatte" cause they no langer secrete a SIGH wraw fro"romoting protein. Advanced Genetics hes permits BRENTWOOD -- There were from the Environmental plenty of empty seats during Tues tion,tigeng CRUfornla pep4rtr day's public forum on Frostban, ment o[ Food and Agricultut�e to but there was no lack of questions test Frostban on a two-4entlr gcxe about the frost-inhibiting bacteria. field containing 2,400 stra,wbu y About 75 people -- Including lo- plants. 11nere are currently two cal residents, those from outside tent, sites avallable to the C003W the coriununity,and state and local ny, one in San Benito County and officials — attended the 2%-flour another on Concord Avenue In meeting In the Bristow Community Brentwood, between Sellers Ave. Theater. The forum,sponsored by nue and Wabaut UQWb N. 'pity - Brentwood .Mayor Catherine company can rim teats it only we Palmer and county Supervisor site. Tom Torlakson, also Included em. The sUawbetry plints will be Ln- ployees of the Oakland Hrm Ad- cinerated at the site atter the tat --- vanced Genetic Sciences, Inc., and the soll dislatected if which developed the product. Frugtban bacteria acro detocied. Frostban is a trademarked ter three months. name for a strain of genetically al- U alloes as the co tered bacteria.These bacteria pro- the tht a-month field�eouid b4 tect plants against frost damage down to 23 degrees Fahrenheit be- S"FtOsnAN, paps to 4 .---..._... From page 1 gin April 1. John Bedbrook, vice Co°��' said the committee local poppet lon Is Mydy president and director of research ommend the Nmooard Of.. lStnpet isM � a(mpanyIs Berkeley t ouse at Advanced Genetics, said afterallow ne � wed becaatae theythe hearing that the Brentwood "I've never In my entire life In wet ��p to80 deg: ,ratb- Bite was still in the running. f �g seen anythb* more tb - er thus the baddisessecausing l The company has already held ough� y tested and processed before temperature of 40 to 50 degrees. hearings in San Benito County,and being pu t out In the Held," Emer- Company sclentiat Lindemann " earlier had been reported to be son said, mid the tests were done with post- leaning toward that site. "I think John Ginochio, president of the five controls (bacteria shown to we got real support from Supervi- county Farm Bureau, read a regio- cause disease in the test). "That's sor Torlakson and Mayor Palmer lution passed Feb. 96 by the CWi- how we knee the conditions were tonight," Bedbrook said. But, he forma Farm Bureau supporting there for the disease to develop." said, "we will make our decision the testing. 'lbs company used testing proce- on purely scientific grounds." Comments by local farmers duress from published scientific lit- Advanced Genetics could select were ai lata r to those of David erature, she said. These a site as early as Thursday, 30 Biumen, whose famlly has been procedures `standard methodolo- days before the end of the Califor- farming In the area for 68 years."I gy" and "aux accepted by the sci- nla Department of Food and Agri- can remember going out and lli�g�e� etrtilic community." culture's 45-day public comment ing smudge pots full of diesel�he Local residents at the forum period. If a decision is made that said. "It's refreshing to we gov-- kept c "ny officials, as well as early, and if no substantial obiec- ernment agencies wanting to go state sand local authorities, bW Lions are raised during the public through with this experiment." answering questions. Among comment period, "we could theo- But there were also dissenters in them: retically start (field tests) the day the crowd. Margaret Verges,from +Do the Frosthun bacteria, P. atter the public comment period," the San Francisco Coalition of Cotr syringae-and P.fluorescein,cause Bedbrook said. cerned Neighbors, said she wor- human disease? No, said health Brentwood is also being consid- Tied about how the Froatban services physician Duffey. F'rost- ered for a test of the bacteria in the bacteria would affect people with ban Is registered as atride for fall, Bedbrook said. "For that, we lowered immunities, such as old technical reasaw, he said, but the need a new notification processpeople, depressedpeople, Infants, bacteria are common inhabitants and we start the whole thing over," = patients, wul children barn of sou and water, and are often he said. "We know we can get without an immune system found on the skin of fruit and vege- meaningful data in the fall, but Dr. Paul Duffey, a physician tables, as well as In the buman what we've got to do first is the with the California Departalent of mouth, spring testing." Health Services, told her that cer- Both bacteria am unable to grow Supervisor Torlakson said the tain strain of Pseudamonas do at normal body temperatures, be county supervisors"technically do Cause diseagp,but that P.syringae said. Over the haat ?.t years, there not have any jurisdiction in law has never been isolated fracp any have been 12 reports of people be- over the proposed field tests. "We sick person. The bacteria mast of- coming sick from P. flaorescerns, are not going to stand in the way of ten causIng trouble, he said, is P. and there are no reports of P. syr- the test. I personally stronfly-sup' aerughma which is found in in- ingae causing tWease. port the test going ahead. ' fections of htun patients and pea. • Will the bacteria travel outside A number of residents said dur- pie with cystic fibrosis. the teat field? No, said company ing the forum that they supported AM$ patients often come down scientist Julle Lindemann. The field tests of the bacteria. Stan with exotic infections, he said, but test plot will be surrounded by a Emerson, chairman of the county "not one has been infected with P. bare soil"buffer sone of between 50 Agricultural Resources Advisory fluoreaceas." aha a5 feet, and 90.9 perMt of f Froatban ceLLs die within 10 days of a application to bare sail, she said. • Will the bacteria affect snow. (a patterm if the bacteria is used commercially by a large number of farmers?No,sold company offs cials. "We don't know If Froatban is gofiV to be establWhed as a pprod- uct,' sold company vice preasident Bedbrook. Larger Held teats Ta require anothrr rotund of rgfulo- toy permits, he said. San Benito County farmer How- ard Farris said he talked with a meteorologist during his lnvestiAs- tinn of the Held teat for that coun- ty's board of supervisors. The meteorologist said that to change weather patterns, one would need to change tfre temperature of.the OUR, prey�Ittsg wind directions, gad the orbit at UW &M I" •.0