The pest had state officials contemplating spraying pheromones over Marin and other Bay Area counties to stop the moth, an invasive insect officials feared could cause widespread agricultural damage.

But last month state Department of Food and Agriculture officials announced the end of that controversial plan and added a "findings document" to their environmental report stating that aerial treatment is not a management tool in the program.

But this week - led by the North Coast Rivers Alliance - Stop the Spray Marin, Fairfax Councilman Larry Bragman and others sued the state, saying the environmental document leaves the door open for aerial and ground spraying.

Former Fairfax mayor Frank Egger, president of the North Coast Rivers Alliance and a board member of Stop the Spray Marin, said the suit was filed because "CDFA continues to believe that it is above the laws that require full and fair disclosure of the environmental impacts of its pesticide spraying programs."

Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the state's food and agriculture department, said the environmental report assessing the moth plan is solid.

"We stand behind the EIR and its robust process," he said.

The lawsuit alleges the state's environmental impact report violates the California

The moth controversy arose in 2008 when the state unveiled plans to use airplanes to spray over Marin and other Bay Area counties to eradicate the moth, which officials said can be a voracious eater of crops and plants. But the planes were never used after an uproar in Marin and other communities.

In the wake of the 2008 controversy, Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, sponsored AB 2765 that requires disclosure and public involvement in the state's pesticide spraying programs. The bill requires the department to hold public hearings before spraying, disclose elements of the spray and to evaluate the human and environmental health effects.

In March some farmers, growers, nursery owners, plant wholesalers, produce distributors, restaurant owners and business proprietors from around California signed a letter and sent it to the state asking that the light brown apple moth eradication program be ended along with its quarantines.

The moth is appearing more frequently in Marin. In 2008, 116 insects were found, while in 2009 the number jumped to 3,848, according to state data. A similar number of traps were put out in the two years.

Contact Mark Prado via e-mail at mprado@marinij.com