SAN FRANCISCO—As the state puts together plans to fight an invasive moth by spraying Bay area cities with a chemical, some local governments are gearing up for a fight.

The Berkeley City Council has voted to oppose the spraying and told California's secretary of agriculture A. G.. Kawamura on Tuesday that it is considering filing a lawsuit to stop it.

The state is planning to spray the chemical, called CheckMate, over Berkeley, Oakland and other East Bay communities in August to combat the spread of the light brown apple moth, an Australian species which the state says threatens more than 2,000 varieties of plants and crops.

Berkeley is the second city to officially oppose the state's aerial spraying. The city of Albany is also opposing it and four bills have been introduced in the state Legislature to delay the spraying.

State officials say CheckMate, is safe. The Environmental Protection Agency classifies CheckMate as a pesticide.

Kawamura confirmed that there were 640 complaints of people feeling ill after spraying occurred in Santa Cruz County last fall.

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Information from: The Oakland Tribune, http://www.oaklandtribune.com/