A sign warning about potential pesticide exposure.

Eversource criticized for continued herbicide use

By Christine Legere
Posted Oct 23, 2019

Eversource was only able to complete its yearly treatment of weeds and brush under power lines in eight Barnstable County towns this fall before “the window” for getting the task done closed, Reid Lamberty, the utility’s spokesman, said Wednesday.

Treatment in Barnstable, Harwich, Chatham, Bourne, Sandwich, Dennis, Yarmouth and Falmouth wrapped up on Monday.

With all the wind and rain, trees were too stripped of their leaves to continue vegetation management in this year’s remaining five target towns: Eastham, Truro, Wellfleet, Mashpee and Orleans.

Glyphosate, a principal ingredient in the herbicide Rodeo and one historically applied to the utility’s rights of way, was not used on the Cape this year.

That was not due to the years of considerable pushback over the compound from the region’s environmentalists and officials, but simply because other herbicides were more effective for the foliage being targeted, Lamberty said.

“We didn’t do much herbicide application,” Lamberty said. “They did very specific application. It’s very targeted.”

An inspector from the state Department of Agricultural Resources was there to oversee the process, he said.

Eversource stopped boom spraying on its rights of way some time ago in response to substantial outcry from the public. Only backpack sprayers are used to treat weeds and overgrowth, but there remains ongoing concern among Cape Codders over herbicide use.

Eversource uses a combination of mowing, pruning and herbicide application to control growth, and the company lays out its treatment method in a yearly operational plan that requires state approval. Weeds and brush must be managed to prevent disruption in the power supply, the utility says.

Herbicides used this year were Krenite S, with fosamine ammonium as its active ingredient; Escort XP, with metsulfuron methyl; and Powerline, with isopropylamine salt of imazapyr.

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod argued against the use of all herbicides earlier this year when commenting on Eversource’s yearly operational plan.

“The utilities continue to ignore the stated desires of the majority of the Cape towns, who do not want herbicides sprayed on their rights of way,” Andrew Gottlieb, executive director of The Association to Preserve Cape Cod, said Wednesday. “The utilities, with the full backing of the state, refuse to adopt more ecologically friendly and effective brush management practices.”

Laura Kelley, president of Cape Cod-based group Protect Our Cape Cod Aquifer (POCCA), pointed out the Cape’s water supply is provided by a sole source aquifer.

“I’m glad to hear Eversource didn’t use glyphosate on any of the towns on Cape Cod this year, but many of the other herbicides are even more harmful to the environment,” Kelley said.

She went on to criticize both the state Pesticide Board and Eversource for failing to notify her when the utility’s yearly operational plan for the region was approved.

“Despite all the communication from POCCA — Cape Cod, we didn’t get any notification,” Kelley said. “In my mind, this is beyond disappointing.”

Kelley’s organization supports the use of manual pruning and mowing, and even the use of goats, which were tried in both Harwich and Barnstable during the last year.

At POCCA’s urging, officials in several Barnstable County towns instituted policies or considered regulations to prohibit application of herbicides containing glyphosate on town-owned properties over the last year.

A handful of bills related to restrictions on glyphosate and other pesticides are also pending before the state Legislature.

State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, has sponsored a bill that would give cities and towns authority to restrict the use of harmful pesticides in their communities, including glyphosate.

The herbicide bills are currently before the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, which will hold a hearing on them Nov. 12.

Susan Phelan, director of GreenCAPE, said her group submits concerns over herbicide use by Eversource every year.

“You have to wonder why the state still approves what is basically hazardous waste being applied over a sole source aquifer,” Phelan said. “There’s something irregular that this is still allowed to happen. We’ve been working on it for 10 years now.”