Cape citizens group targets herbicide spraying
- A small citizens group plans this week to pursue a legal stop to Eversource electric and gas company spraying herbicides on Cape Cod rights of way.
|Harwich Conservation Trust volunteers Sarah Wormer, of North Harwich, and Jayne Phelps, of West Harwich, prune overgrowth in 2014 in an effort to prevent the company now known as Eversource from spraying herbicides on the power line's right of way near the public water supply. Cape Cod Times file- By Mary Ann Bragg
mbragg@capecodonline.com
Posted Sep. 12, 2015 at 7:00 PM
Updated Sep 12, 2015 at 10:34 PMNORTH EASTHAM — A small citizens group plans this week to pursue a legal stop to Eversource electric and gas company spraying herbicides on Cape rights of way.
The nonprofit Protect Our Cape Cod Aquifer intends to file a claim Monday in Orleans District Court that would lead to the pursuit of an injunction to stop the spraying, POCCA President Laura Kelley said. The group is using a lawyer working pro bono and will enlist the help of right-of-way abutters in several towns to testify against the spraying, Kelley said.
Fundraising is underway to raise the $800 that is needed for court-related fees and expenses, she said. The nonprofit group, formed in 2013, had about $50 in its coffers until a month ago, Kelley said.
“Basically, it’s not going to stop (Eversource),” Kelley said of an injunction. “It will slow it down for a short period of time. It’s a step in the direction of allowing more time to educate the governor in what’s happening down here.”
In response, an Eversource representative on Saturday said the company is using a state-approved vegetation management program to ensure that customers have reliable electric service and to promote a natural, self-sustaining environment on the rights of way.
“Because programs such as ours are considered best practice, they're widely used locally and nationally to control unwanted and incompatible vegetation,” Eversource spokeswoman Rhiannon D’Angelo wrote in an email.
Objections to the use of herbicides to manage right-of-way vegetation have been raised for years, given concerns about polluting the Cape’s aquifer. In 2009, Kelley, a horticulturist, and about a dozen Lower Cape residents took their own clippers and branch cutters to trim a right of way in Wellfleet, to raise awareness of their concerns. Earlier this year, the town of Falmouth sent a letter to the state Department of Agricultural Resources objecting to the use of herbicides by Eversource on the rights of way, said Selectman Doug Jones, board chairman.
“We’ve gone on record that we are opposed to it and we had hoped that would be taken into consideration,” Jones said Saturday. He said the selectmen got a reply about two months ago saying the use of herbicide spraying was going to proceed as planned.
“The letter was so very clear that they heard us and would do what they wanted to anyway, we didn’t feel we had other options,” Jones said.
In June, the state Department of Agricultural Resources approved the company's yearly operational plan to control vegetation. In September, Eversource spokesman Michael Durand said the company planned to resume spraying by this week.
Herbicide applications are planned for Barnstable, Bourne, Eastham, Falmouth, Mashpee, Orleans, Truro and Wellfleet, Durand said. Touch-up applications may be applied in Chatham, Dennis, Harwich, Sandwich and Yarmouth.
Eversource provides electricity to all towns on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard.
The mission of POCCA Cape Cod Inc. is to inform the public about water issues on Cape Cod, review possible solutions and lobby for tighter controls over pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer use.
A primary focus now is to catch the attention of Gov. Charlie Baker's administration, Kelley said.
On Aug. 26, POCCA began a letter-writing campaign to Baker focusing on what the group says is the state Department of Agricultural Resources's approval of Eversource herbicide spraying plans without comment on requests to reject the plans.
"The administration has received inquiries from constituents on this matter and state environmental officials are closely monitoring the spraying activity to ensure it is conducted responsibly," state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs spokeswoman Katie Gronendyke said in an email.
Eversource voluntarily gave up spraying on the Cape for several years while company officials studied the practice and gathered community reaction, Durand said earlier in September. Results showed residents don’t like mowing because it produces a barren-looking landscape, he said.
Part of the utility company’s approach is to mow and then target trees and tall, invasive species for herbicide applications as the plants re-emerge, allowing low-lying plants such as bayberry and milkweed to spread and thrive, Durand said.
Environmentalists have concerns about the types of chemicals being applied, such as glyphosate used in Roundup and Garlon 4, Kelley said. Garlon 4 kills oysters, and the International Agency for Research on Cancers says glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans, she said.
— Follow Mary Ann Bragg on Twitter: @maryannbraggCCT.
Lydia Manter
This practice must be stopped. Govoner Baker needs to intercede. MDAR is aware of many people who have been exposed to the herbicides by inhalation and ingestion but continue to license Eversource. Our Towns do not have the ability to test the municipal wells for the toxic mix. Glyphosate is linked to cancer. There are 3 members,of my family with cancer and all have been directly exposed to Eversource herbicides. The citizens of cape cod should not be subjected to this in residential neighborhoods. Our aquifer should be kept clean. - http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20150912/NEWS/150919735/101015/NEWSLETTER100
National Grid to begin work on Sandwich pipeline
NEWS NOW
Posted Sep. 1, 2015
SANDWICH — National Grid plans to begin work on the 4.4 miles of pipeline along Service Road, from Route 130 to Chase Road, beginning Sept. 14, said Jake Navarro, a spokesman for the company.
The project, which took several years going through the permitting process, had been scheduled to begin in April. “We wanted to make sure we took every precaution and worked with the town and people who live nearby to get the route right,” Navarro said of the delay. “It took longer than expected.”
The first thing that will be done is to take down trees and other vegetation in the pipeline's path, he said. That has to be done before the winter to protect endangered turtles identified in the area of the construction, Navarro said.
Any neighbor who sees an issue once trees are removed can contact National Grid’s visual mitigation program at 781-586-8890, he said.
While critics have said National Grid should first focus on leaks associated with its aging service lines elsewhere, like Boston, Navarro said the Sandwich project won’t delay that work.
“The Cape really needs this project sooner to improve service to our customers,” he said.
The Sandwich project is separate from gas line issues that forced a moratorium on gas hookups from Dennis to Eastham, Navarro said.
George Brennan
http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20150901/NEWS/150909902/101015/NEWSLETTER100
Utility company to begin herbicide use in 8 Cape towns
Eversource Energy plans to start applying herbicides around power line rights of way in eight Cape towns by mid-month despite continued opposition to the practice among local residents.
Vegetation Control Services worker Mark Summers uses a power sprayer to apply a herbicide to pitch pine saplings in Bourne along a power line right of way in 2013. Eversource is cleared to begin using herbicides again starting this month. Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times file
By Cynthia McCormick
cmccormick@capecodonline.com
Eversource Energy plans to start applying herbicides around power line rights of way in eight Cape towns by mid-month despite continued opposition to the practice among local residents.
Touch-up applications also are tentatively scheduled for five additional towns, depending on the need to control plant growth, according to utility company spokesman Michael Durand.
Spraying may begin the week of Sept. 14, depending on weather conditions, Durand said.
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources approved Eversource's yearly operational plan to control vegetation in June, but the practice of spraying herbicides around utility company rights of way has drawn the ire of environmental groups that say the chemicals being sprayed are harmful to the soil and water.
Nontoxic remedies are preferable, said Laura Kelley, of Eastham, a horticulturalist who is director of a group called Protect Our Cape Cod Aquifer.
“They can go back to mowing,” she said. “It's cheap.”
The utility company, formerly known as NStar, voluntarily gave up spraying anywhere on the Cape for several years while company officials undertook a study of the practice and got community reaction, Durand said.
They found residents don't like mowing because it produces a barren-looking landscape, he said.
Part of the utility's approach is to mow and target invasive, tall species such as purple loosestrife and trees for herbicide application as the plants re-emerge, allowing low-lying plants such as bayberry and milkweed to spread and thrive, Durand said.
Environmentalists have concerns about the types of chemicals being applied, such as glyphosate used in Roundup and Garlon 4, Kelley said. Garlon 4 kills oysters, and the United Nations International Agency for Research on Cancer says glyphosate is a probable carcinogen in humans, she said.
Eversource will notify residents when it plans to begin spraying with a published announcement in the newspaper, as is required by law, Durand said. The spraying can take a week or so, he said.
Residents can take steps to minimize the impact of the herbicide application by closing house and car windows and harvesting vegetables before spraying begins, Kelley said. She also suggested people mark private wells with a stake, since Eversource is not supposed to spray within 50 feet of a private well, and she suggested that people keep a separate pair of shoes outside the house for walking under the power lines.
The eight towns where rights of way are scheduled for herbicide application this fall include Barnstable, Bourne, Eastham, Falmouth, Mashpee, Orleans, Truro and Wellfleet.
Eversource may also apply herbicides in Chatham, Dennis, Harwich, Sandwich and Yarmouth if “touch ups” are necessary due to plant growth, Durand said. Touch ups may also be done at rights of way sprayed in the past in Bourne and Falmouth.
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