Ok. How can worm castings ever be thought of as a pesticide? Am I missing something here?

Here is another article about it.

http://www.nctimes.com/business/article_9656ce6d-7691-5fdf-b6b8-b456be2a4cdd.html

The court case was July 30. A google/news search didn't find anything about the suit, which is probably a low-interest item in a state with so many more pressing problems.[we're going broke] Please post here, if you see a story about the suit. No telling how long before the judge renders an opinion. The press release on the eve of the court hearing is linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Press release - PLF

I imagine California EPA is quite embarassed by this whole thing but typical of Government beaurocrats will not back down even to keep from looking ridiculous.

It may boil down to the claims that were originally made by the owner regarding the product (what it can and cant do). Sometimes these types of laws need to be inplace to protect the end user or customer.

As I understand it the owner did get a bit flamboyant in his claims but he never said worm castings will kill insects. What he said that set the EPA off was that use of worm compost will help plants produce natural compounds that help them fight off insect invasions. We all know healthy plants have less insect problems. That's a true claim though it may be hard to prove in court but if worm castings violate laws in that regard then so does compost and a lot of other natural fertilizers and soil conditioners.

If you watch the video from the legal people defending Worm gold, the Dept. of Pesticide regulation claims that anything that keeps pests off of plants should be regulated, including water, scarecrows, ductape , barbed wire, and teflon.

So, yeah, the guy maybe did make some extravagant claims, but if what they say is true, the state's response is out of line.

Here is a link that might be useful: lawyer's video