NSTAR Herbicide Spraying
along Rights of Way
Save the DateSunday August 8th at 7 pm at Dennis Public Library KICK-OFF PARTY TO STOP THE SPRAY!
You are cordially invited: To CELEBRATE the
2010 NSTAR Spray Delay And to plan a Permanent End to the Use of Toxic
Chemicals Above our Water Supply!
When: Sunday, August 8th
Where: The Dennis Public Library Off Route 28 in Dennisport (www.dennispubliclibrary.org)
Time: 7-8:30 pm
RSVP: info@greencape.org
Join us for the latest NSTAR update and our coalition¹s progress and plans. Meet our energetic green warriors & HELP US STOP THE JOLLY-NOT-SO-GREEN-GIANT! Toxic persistent pesticides are a dangerous way to manage vegetation!
Light refreshments and beverages will be served~ RSVP requested Hosted by: GreenCAPE Concerned Citizens Against Herbicide Use on Cape Cod Toxics Action Center Green Corps
~
The Agreement to extend the comment period. May 4, 2010:
From: Patty Daley Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2010 2:31 PM
To: 'Dunham, George'; 'Guerino, Thomas'; 'Linda Smulligan'; 'John Kelly';
'Klimm, John'; 'Jo Anne Miller Buntich (joanne.buntich@town.barnstable.ma.us)';
Lawton, Robert; 'Sharon Lynn'; Joyce M. Mason; jmerriam@town.harwich.ma.us;
'townadm@truro-ma.gov'; 'assttownadm@truro-ma.gov'; 'townadministrator@townofwellfleet.org';
'csumner@town.brewster.ma.us'; 'svanderhoef@eastham-ma.gov'; 'Richard
White'; 'rwhritenour@falmouthmass.us' Cc: Paul Niedzwiecki; Nancy Hossfeld
Subject: NSTAR Rights-Of-Way Spraying
Dear Town Manager/Administrator: Attached please find a copy of an agreement between the Cape Cod Commission and NSTAR that was recently filed with the Massachusetts Commissioner of Agricultural Resources to postpone herbicide spraying for calendar year 2010. Also attached is a copy of a joint press release that was distributed to the press this afternoon. The joint agreement filed with the Commissioner of Agricultural Resources allows an extension of the Yearly Operational Plan comment period through the end of this calendar year. This effectively means that herbicide spraying will not take place until next spring in those towns that wish to postpone such spraying. The extension will give the Commission time to map Rights-Of-Way (ROWs) upon municipal request. We have received requests from 10 towns to assist with ROW mapping so far. If you have not already done so, please let us know if you would like to be included in our mapping efforts. The extension is optional for Towns you may pursue spraying this year if that is the will of your community. Please give me or Paul Niedzwiecki a call if you have any questions.
Patty Daley Director of Technical Services Cape Cod Commission 508-362-3828
Attached: Press Release. Download
the press release
Attached: Memorandum of Understanding to Commissioner Soares,
Download the MOU
Recent Events:
Cape Cod Times Editorial: Delay the Spray ..." NStar, however, seems bent on going ahead with spraying, perhaps as early as June. This does not seem, in our view, the action of a good corporate neighbor...." 4/6/2010 http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100406/OPINION/4060311/-1/opinion
Entire Cape Cod Legislative Delegation Requests a 12 month Moratorium. ³What we as the delegation are asking for, and what I think is a very reasonable request, is that if there are other alternatives to spraying, we need to explore them, and we need to give the people exploring those options enough time.² - Senator O¹Leary
LIsten to WOMR "Organic Thinking" Radio Show 2/24/2010 http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/womr/.jukebox?action=viewMedia&mediaId=888033 (click on listen, then after broadcast downloads, click on play icon)
The Moratorium Quest:
Send a message to MDAR Commissioner Scott Soares, Governor Patrick
and Ian A. Bowles,Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs
The Dept. of Agricultural Resources AND The Department of Public Utilities
AND The Department of Environmental Protection are ALL part of the Office
of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs (see
organization chart), Ian A. Bowles, Secretary.)
Let your town officials and legislators know you are proud of them for requesting the 12 month moratorium.
Commissioner Scott Soares, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources 251 Causeway Street, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02114-2151 (617)626-1701 Scott.Soares@state.ma.us
GreenCAPE open letter, March 2010: To all living above the Cape¹s sole-source aquifer:
We are very close to having an extended comment period on the ROW herbicide spraying proposed by the public utility NSTAR! --BUT Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR ) Commissioner Scott Soares is not yet convinced he should grant this delay. MDAR will accept a request for a one-year extension by the Cape Cod Commission (CCC) representing all Cape towns if a specific course of action/study is outlined. He requests compelling scientific reasons for NSTAR to stop the spraying of herbicides on Cape Cod. According to Rep. Sarah Peake, he wants input from citizens, stating facts, mailed to him personally.
GreenCAPE and our partners are encouraging the one-year moratorium for two reasons. NSTAR has admitted it does not have all the sensitive areas and private wells on the Cape mapped and ,as it was recently revealed, NSTAR has been spraying without this vital information. The Cape Cod Commission has offered to provide field work this summer to fully map the area. NSTAR cannot follow the law if they cannot avoid these unknown areas and abide by appropriate and legal set backs. There are other vegetative management systems sans chemicals that need to be researched and considered for this sensitive sand bar. GreenCAPE is seeking long-term sustainable practices that protect public health and the environment and we are in touch with other utilities that are successfully moving in this direction. We need time to be able to make these healthier approaches known to the CCC, MDAR, and NSTAR. With your help, we can prevail upon Comm. Soares for this much-needed extension. See today¹s Cape Cod Times http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=OPINION for a sample of ideas you can use in your letter or phone call. If you¹ve already written a letter or called, please consider forwarding that material and your concerns one more time to Comm. Soares.
See our website for more information, fact sheets on the issue, chemical details, and updates: www.GreenCAPE.org. SO--Power up your computers and make Comm. Soares your best new pen pal without delay! Mar. 26th is the deadline for public comment but I would suggest your letter/call be forwarded as soon as possible. Spraying can resume as early as Mar. 29th in some towns. Please cc: your letter to your Cape Rep. and Senator and anyone else you think would benefit. Contact info below. PLEASE let me know their responses and please forward this request to everyone you know- Cape residents, summer residents and visitors, too.
Thank you for your support and encouragement-I know we can do this! Sue Phelan, GreenCAPE
Commissioner Scott Soares, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources 251 Causeway Street, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02114-2151 (617)626-1701 Scott.Soares@state.ma.us
Governor Patrick's Office: Phone: 617.725.4005; 1-888.870.7770 (in state) Fax: 617.727.9725 TTY: 617.727.3666
Sarah Peake Telephone: 617-722-2210 508-487-5694 Facsimile:617-722-2239 E-Mail: Rep.SarahPeake@Hou.State.MA.US
Jeff Perry Telephone: 617-722-2396 Phone: (508)-888-2158 Facsimile: 617-722-2819 Fax: (508) 888-1179 Email: Rep.JeffreyPerry@hou.state.ma.us
Demetrius Atasalis Telephone: 617-722-2810 Facsimile: 617-722-2846 E-Mail: Rep.DemetriusAtsalis@hou.state.ma.us
Cleon Turner Telephone: 617-722-2090 Facsimile: 617-626-0542 E-Mail: Rep.CleonTurner@Hou.State.MA.US
Robert O'Leary, Senate Telephone: (617) 722-1570 Fax: (617) 722-1271 Robert.O'Leary@state.ma.us
Matt Patrick Telephone: 617-722-2090 508-540-6308 Facsimile: 617-722-2848 E-mail: Rep.MatthewPatrick@hou.state.ma.us repmattp@cape.com
Senate Pres. Therese Murray Tel: (617) 722-1500 Tel: (508) 746-9332 FAX: (617) 248-3840 Tel: (508) 746-4910 Therese.Murray@state.ma.us
Timothy Madden State Rep for Falmouth precincts 1, 2, 5, 6 (617) 722 2810 timothy.madden@state.ma.us
William Delahunt, Congressman Representative, 10th Congressional District 508-771-0666 Toll-Free: 800-870-2626 william.delahunt@mail.house.gov
State Senator for Barnstable District Therese Murray 508-746-9332 Therese.Murray@state.ma.us
Senator Scott Brown 617-565-3170 comments@scottbrown.senate.gov
Senator John F. Kerry 617-565-8519 http://kerry.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
~~
RIGHT OF WAY SPRAYING by NSTAR resumes soon unless you stop it.
FACT SHEETS
Two factsheets to download, read, take action, and pass along:
the long and the short of the NSTAR Plan to Herbicide Cape Cod. The short
version can serve as a flyer (2 sides). The long version includes additional
material and references.
Download NSTAR Sustainable Right of Way factsheet (long version).
Download NSTAR Spraying factsheet/flyer (short version)
Petition by Concerned Citizens Against Herbicide Use on Cape Cod
March update--NSTAR herbicide spraying:
Why we're not believing the scientists--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4lijvIjpRw Check this out for some easy morning listeningŠ..NSTAR won¹t be using that herbicide but as Dr. Hayes reports‹Atrazine has been used for 48 years all over the world and only recently has its endocrine disrupting effects been reported. Sooo what are we missing with NSTARs fabulous five mixture?
Tell 10 friends about the NStar plan and have them tell 10 friends, and so on. Give them GreenCAPE factsheetsdownload from the top of this page.
Actions Needed: 1. Contact your local officials. Give them
a petition to sign.
2. Circulate the petition
3. Contact NSTAR Community Relations, jeffrey.luce@nstar.com
Please call NSTAR, Jeffrey Luce, NSTAR Community Relations, 508-957-4502, email jeffrey.luce@nstar.com (see fact sheet) and request a non-toxic vegetation management plan for all of Cape Cod. Only YOU can write the end of this story by getting actively involved in your town to make it happen.
Contact us at info@GreenCAPE.org
download and print this pdf document. Contact Jared at jaredatthecape@yahoo.com
for more information. JaredCollins.com text/call 508.246.5791
tinyurl.com/ForThoseConcerned
Send petitions to Greencape, P.O. Box 631, West Barnstable, MA 02668
NSTAR
use of pesticide discussion on Facebook
www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=141240279315&topic=13483
8/19/09 Concerned Citizens Against Herbicide Use on Cape Cod www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109138248696
8/17/09 NSTAR will begin mechanical vegetation removal today.
Garlon 4 (added to list of pesicides to be used. It was not mentioned
at the meeting.
8/14/09 update. Sen O'Leary, Rep. Peake and Turner ask for a 30 day delay.
NSTAR announces vegetation management spraying along right of way electrical electrical transmission towers on the outer Cape:
Over 100 people attended a forum on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at Nauset Regional High School auditorium, scheduled for 90 minutes. There were 4 representatives from Nstar; 3 from the Mass. Dept. of Agricultural Resources, including Commissioner Scott Soares; Senator Rob O'Leary, Rep. Sarah Peake, Rep. Cleon Turner; moderator Patrick Cassidy of the Cape Cod Times, and one microphone on the podium. The lack of microphones was keenly felt by all, and this humble summary is far from complete.
The meeting began with slide presentations by Nstar and MDAR, empasizing that many Federal and state regulations must be met in order to do IVM (integrated vegetation managment) which includes chemical, mechanical, and natural methods. 10 feet on either side of the electrical poles must be clear for access to be sure that towers will not come down due to trees which can reach 60 feet high. An Eastham selectwoman read a strongly worded statement against the spraying.
Though the Nstar presenter mentioned Roundup, also mentioned were Arsenal, KreniteS, Accord and Escort.
Some of the points brought up by the audience:
1. Unlike most other regions of Massachusetts, here on the Cape we have
a sole-source aquifer (WE LIVE OVER OUR ONLY WATER SOURCE, with
sandy, porous soil above it.)
2. The problem of pesticide drift in our ever present wind includes damage
to people and honeybees.
3. Could the MDAR model the damage without making the top soil layer so
thick. This is not the actual conditions near the electrical towers.
4. We have been told in the past that pesticides were safe--ie, DDT, dioxin.
In general, the audience was asking Nstar to look at other creative ways to handle the vegetation problem. Not all questions were answered and the audience was invited to stay and ask questions privately. An Nstar representative told one questioner that the spraying was already scheduled for this coming Monday, August 17.
As a result on August 13th, Sen. O'Leary, Rep. Peake and Rep. Turner asked Nstar for a 30 day delay. Read the press release from Sen. O'Leary's office (opens in pdf format). This request has no legal standing--it must come from the town of Eastham or another public entity.
http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/Sensitive_Area_Materials.htm (note the supplemental labeling for Roundup PRO by Monsanto)
Rep. Sarah Peake By phone: (617) 722-2210, (508) 487-5694
E-mail: rep.sarahpeake@hou.state.ma.us
7 Center Street, Provincetown, MA 02657
Room 473F, State House Boston, MA 02133
Sen. Rob O'Leary State House Room 511B Boston, MA 02133
Telephone: (617) 722-1570 Fax: (617) 722-1271
E-Mail: Robert.O'Leary@state.ma.us
Commissioner Scott Soares, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural
Resources
251 Causeway Street, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02114-2151
(617)626-1701
Scott.Soares@state.ma.us
~
Download/view GreenCAPE letter to
Eastham officials June 16, 2009
Download/view GreenCAPE letter
to Rep. Peake and Sen. O'Leary Aug 8, 2009
- NSTAR Vegetation Management Plan-- a 98 page document,
5 year plan from 2008-2012 and the NSTAR Yearly Operational Plan for 2010 are both downloadable in PDF from the MDAR website: - NSTAR Integrated Vegetation Management Right-of-Way
Program Overview, 7/28/09 powerpoint program in pdf.
- Mass. Dept of Agricultural
Resources Homepage
www.mass.gov/agr
- MDAR Regulations homepage
Download --Standards for the Implementation of Integrated Pest Management Techniques & Rights of Way Maintenance Plans--333_CMR_11.00.pdf. - MDAR Rights
of Way Vegetation Management homepage
www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/index.htm - What is Water Well- Being? A DAR program to protect a sole source aquifer www.mass.gov/agr/waterwellbeing/
- MDAR Regulations homepage
- Rights-of-Way Herbicides: a citizens' guide to the state regulations
on vegetation management on utility, railroad and roadside rights-of-way.
Mass. Audubon Society and Mass. Association of Conservation Commissions,
1988.
(32 pages, download here)
Study the Facts first, then sign the new petition:
Clean Water Action is hosting a new petition to stop NSTAR's proposed
herbicide spraying along their utility rights of way in 13 Cape towns.
Cape natives, washashores, vacationers and anyone who expects to drink
the water and breathe the air here is welcome to sign. We need to show
that an overwheleming number of people are concerned.
salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2155/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3813
click here or scroll down the page under chem details for more studies--
The Herbicides -- Chemical Details and label info:
NSTAR Pesticides & additions data / proposed Eastham ROW spraying
Trade names in bold; a.i. in parentheses is the “active
ingredient”
note--most are pdf documents that will open in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Accord (a.i.=glyphosate) www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/docs/Glyphosate2005.pdf
Label: www.cdms.net/LDat/ld4TL015.pdf
MSDS: www.cdms.net/LDat/mp4TL003.pdf
Arsenal (a.i=imazapyr) www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/docs/Imazapyr2005.pdf
Label: www.cdms.net/LDat/ld746002.pdf
MSDS: www.cdms.net/LDat/mp746004.pdf
Escort (a.i.=metsulfuron methyl) www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/docs/Metsulfuron_Methyl2005.pdf
Label: www.dupont.com/ag/us/prodinfo/prodsearch/information/H65216.pdf
MSDS: msds.dupont.com/msds/pdfs/EN/PEN_09004a2f80125c7a.pdf
Pyridine (garlon 4) (a.i.=triclopyr)
Organochlorine class of pesticides and a suspected carcinogen and mutagen
which has been detected in groundwater and is toxic to fish. Linked to
mammary and adrenal tumors.
www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/docs/triclopyr2005.pdf
Label: www.cdms.net/ldat/ld0B0013.pdf
Supplemental Label: www.cdms.net/ldat/ld0B0000.pdf
MSDS: www.cdms.net/ldat/mp0B0014.pdf
Krenite (a.i.=fosamine ammonium) www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/docs/Fosamine_Ammonium2005.pdf
Label: www.dupont.com/ag/us/prodinfo/prodsearch/information/H65191.pdf
MSDS: msds.dupont.com/msds/pdfs/EN/PEN_09004a2f80006da5.pdf
41-A Drift Retardant
www.montereychemical.com/label/Sanag%2041-A.pdf
Arborchem Clean-Cut Surfactant
Label www.arborchem.com/images/products/arborch_cleancut.gif
MSDS page 1 www.arborchem.com/images/products/arborch_cleancut_msdsp1.gif
MSDS page 2 www.arborchem.com/images/products/arborch_cleancut_msdsp2.gif
More information and scientific studies:
Silent Spring Institute Reports New Contaminants in Well Testing http://silentspring.org/our-research/research-updates/tests-find-new-contaminants-cape-cod-s-drinking-water-supply-septic-sy
The President¹s Cancer Panel issues a 200 page report ² Annual Report for 2008-2009 Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk, What We Can Do Now² download it here -- deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/pcp.htm
How Pesticides Drift--interactive slides from the Associated Press
To Mr. Tom May, CEO of NSTAR: Please consider alternatives to spray.
Here's One:
Brown Brontosaurus--see it on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAQ3RizvZAQ