Anti-pesticide group threatens to sue Oceanside tomato grower (original) (raw)

A national advocacy group has sent a formal notice of its intent to sue a long-time Oceanside farming family, the city and the county over what the group alleges are violations of pesticide regulations and the federal Clean Water Act.

West Coast Tomato Growers, owned by the Singh family, “routinely applied pesticides contrary to manufacturer labels, right before predicted rains, and when spray drift was likely,” according Non-Toxic Neighborhoods, a California-based nonprofit with members across the United States.

“Its disregard for both state and federal laws puts people and the environment at risk,” the group said in a recent news release, adding that the “unlawful pesticide use is particularly troubling because some of its operations occur on Oceanside and (San Diego) County leased public lands.”

Company officials declined to discuss specifics of the notice and issued a statement in response.

“First and foremost, we at West Coast Tomato Growers take our regulatory compliance obligations very seriously,” said the statement emailed by Orven Zaragoza, the company’s director of food safety and regulatory compliance.

“We are a four-generation local San Diego County-run family business — we take pride in our premium quality produce and being responsible stewards of this land,” it states. “While we have no outstanding permit violations from regulators, we will address any instances that are proven valid.”

Others have raised the pesticide issue in the past. Members of the Oceanside-based Clean Earth 4 Kids have asked city officials to stop leasing property to West Coast because of its pesticide use.

Non-Toxic Neighborhoods circulated a petition in 2019 that received 526 signatures asking the Oceanside City Council to ban the use of pesticides on municipal property. In March 2020 the City Council voted against the proposal, saying it would require parks to be weeded by hand, among other things, and it would increase maintenance costs by $250,000 a year.

Non-Toxic Neighborhoods founder Kim Konte said the group has documented more than 200 instances in 18 months where West Coast has applied hazardous pesticides on tomato fields without the required notices or permits.

“Enforcing pesticide regulations is crucial to protect public health and the environment,” Konte said.

“WCTG routinely misapplies pesticides, some of which contain forever chemicals such as PFAS, near schools and residential communities,” said Susie Rupp, the California director of Non-Toxic Neighborhoods, in the news release.

“These toxic chemicals can end up in the San Luis Rey River, which snakes through northern Oceanside and empties into the ocean,” Rupp said. “It’s shocking that a local farm, operating on public land, has such disregard for public health and the environment.”

Tomatoes are the third most popular vegetable consumed in the United States, behind potatoes and onions, according to the International Fresh Produce Association. However, the plants are sensitive to disease, and commercial production usually includes the application of chemical pesticides.

West Coast Tomato Growers grows the bright red produce on hundreds of acres, much of it along North River Road in the Morro Hills area of northeastern Oceanside. The company is one of only a few in the country that support the plants with wooden stakes or poles, which improves the size and quality of the produce.

Harry Singh, Sr., started the company in 1939 and today it is the third largest vine-ripened tomato producer in the United States. The harvest begins in late June or early July and peaks in September and October, when workers can pack as many as 50,000 24-pound crates in a day.

For years the Singhs leased about 600 acres on Camp Pendleton. Until about 2010, the green rows of staked vines could be seen along Interstate 5 just north of Oceanside.

Priya Singh, the company’s general manager, addressed a U.S. International Trade Commission hearing in 2019 to say that his company was forced to reduce production because of a glut of low-priced tomatoes from Mexico. Much of California’s agricultural industry faces the same dilemma.

West Coast continues to cultivate about nine acres owned by the city of Oceanside and a little more than 77 acres owned the county of San Diego. Because of that, the Non-Toxic Neighborhoods legal notice includes the city and the county.

The nonprofit is represented by Coast Law Group of Encinitas.

Originally Published: August 30, 2024 at 11:57 a.m.