Cape Cod for a Truly Green NSTAR

public opinion and reaction to the plan

•Donations in any amount urgently needed. 100% tax deductible.

Cape Lawmakers File Bill Targeting Herbicide Use: http://capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID-/20110302/NEWS/103020315/
    --Rep. Sarah Peake says, "We hope NSTAR will make the right decision and use Barnstable County as a model and put into place best practdices using no pesticides."

State Rep Cleon Turner opinion in CCT: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110216/OPINION/102160335/-1/NEWSMAP.
--"it cannot be argued that the Cape's drinking water is safe when herbicides are used."

http://www.wbur.org/2010/08/16/weed-killing-chemicals Weed-Killing Chemicals Worry Cape Residents

By The WBUR Newsroom August 16, 2010, 4:04 PM BOSTON ‹

Some Cape Cod residents are calling on utility company NStar to stop using pesticides to kill weeds along its power lines. NStar maintains that its methods of weed-control are safe for the community, said spokesman Mike Durand. ³Using the herbicide in the amounts that we do, which are very low, in conjunction with some other methods that we use, is absolutely the best way to do it,² Durand said. NStar has agreed to a moratorium on the spraying until next spring, so cities and towns can map out areas that are sensitive to the chemicals.

State agriculture officials say there is little threat to the water supply. Managing weeds by both spraying chemicals and manually removing them is safe for the environment, according to state Agricultural Resources Commissioner Scott Soares. By using chemicals in moderation, ³you maintain the meadowland environment of grasses and low-growing shrubs that eventually choke out the invasive species and provide a great habitat for wildlife,² Soares said.

Environmental activists are worried that the chemicals could make their way into the local water supply and may potentially harm humans, said Sylvia Broude, director of the Toxics Action Center.

³The chemicals NStar proposes to use have been linked to a whole range of health impacts,² Broude said, ³everything from kidney disorders and kidney damage to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other cancers.²

Broude accuses NStar of being lazy in its weed-fighting approach. ³They clearly know how to manage vegetation without pesticides,² Broude said. ³They¹ve done it for decades. We think this is just very simple. This is about health and about drinking water.² The state Agricultural Resources Department, with help from University of Massachusetts researchers, is conducting tests to see if any of the chemicals made their way into the groundwater on Cape Cod.

The sign-on letter for businesses and organizations:

July 2010

As part of its five-year Vegetation Management Plan in compliance with 333 CMR 11.00, NSTAR Electric and Gas Corporation (NSTAR) intends to apply five different herbicides under approximately 150 miles of electrical and transmission lines across Cape Cod and the Islands. For decades, NSTAR (formerly Boston Edison and Commonwealth Electric) used only non-chemical methods for controlling weeds along its rights-of-way, employing mechanical cutting and hand-mowing exclusively across the state, including on Cape Cod. (1)

Between 2004 and 2007, NSTAR began spraying pesticides on Cape Cod along rights-of-way. Residents on Cape Cod learned of these pesticide plans when NSTAR filed a new Vegetation Management Plan in 2008. Following months of public outcry and delay, NSTAR agreed to a moratorium on herbicide spraying through the end of 2010. In the spring of 2011 they intend to begin spraying once again. These herbicides threaten public health, the environment and precious drinking water resources on Cape Cod. We, the undersigned organization, oppose pesticide use along rights-of-way on Cape Cod, and ask that NSTAR commit to a no-spray, herbicide-free policy on Cape Cod rights-of-way for the following reasons:

• In general, herbicides are harmful to living organisms. Herbicides, like all pesticides, are designed to kill, and they can harm more than just the intended target. NSTAR plans to use glyphosate (Accord), imazapyr (Arsenal), metsulfuron methyl (Escort), triclopyr (Garlon 4), and fosamine ammonium (Krenite). According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), glyphosate can cause kidney damage and reproductive disorders in humans and is an endocrine disruptor. (2) Glyphosate is one of the most widely used pesticides in the country, and earlier this year the New York Times reported that its overuse is leading to the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weeds, forcing farmers to go back to plowing and other mechanical methods of weed control, or to even more toxic pesticides. (3)
A study in 1999 by the American Cancer Society linked glyphosate exposure to non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.(4)

• The herbicides NSTAR proposes for use on Cape Cod can migrate off rights-of-way, seeping into groundwater and surface water and exposing humans and aquatic organisms to toxic chemicals. A study of Metsulfuron Methyl on rights-of-way stated that the chemical is highly mobile in the environment and has the potential to contaminate groundwater. Cape Cod is an EPA-designated sole source aquifer, meaning the aquifer is the only source of drinking water for Cape Cod and ³if contaminated, would create a significant hazard to public health.² (6) Sandy soils across the Cape leave groundwater particularly vulnerable to contamination. Cape Cod is very windy and documented wind velocities rarely fall within label restrictions, meaning that herbicides will drift.

• Non-toxic alternatives to weed control on rights-of-way already exist and are readily available. For decades before 2004, NSTAR dealt effectively with weeds on Cape Cod through selective hand-cutting and mowing. We are asking NSTAR to return to those safer, non-chemical methods of weed control. We recognize that herbicide treatment can be less expensive in the short-term, however, the use of herbicides to control weed growth along rights-of-way on Cape Cod is an unnecessary risk for public health and the environment. The short-term financial benefits are far outweighed by the long-term liability for risks posed to precious drinking water, the health of Cape Cod communities, and the safety of workers. We request that NSTAR abandon its current plan to use herbicides along rights-of-way on Cape Cod and commit to a no-spray, pesticide-free policy of vegetation management on Cape Cod and the Islands.

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(1) /www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/vmp/NSTAR-VMP-2008-2012.pdf, p. 7
(2) www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/basicinformation/glyphosate.html#three (3)www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/energyenvironment/04wed.html?pagewanted=all
(4) A Case-Control Study of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Exposure to Pesticides, American Cancer Society, 1999. www.beyondpesticides.org/documents/acs-nhlymphoma-1999.pdf (5) www.oregon.gov/ODF/privateforests/docs/metsulfuronmethyl.pdf, Oregon State University.
(6) www.epa.gov/ne/eco/drinkwater/solecape.html

Respectfully,

ORGANIZATION/BUSINESS:__________________________________________________

CONTACT PERSON: ________________________________________________________

EMAIL ADDRESS: __________________________________________________________

ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________________

PHONE NUMBER: __________________________________________________________

Brent Harold Column in the Cape Cod Times

•Cape Cod Times, Brent Harold Editorial, October 5, 2010.
capecodonline.com

• The Cape Codder Newspaper, August 6, 2010 www.wickedlocal.com/chatham/news/x588238779/Watchdogs
Locals Track NSTAR Violations.

• WBZ 38: Cape Residents upset with Nstar chemical spraying, news article and video
wbztv.com/local/nstar.chemical.spraying.2.1855857.html

• Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog with comments 8/12/2010
www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=4071#comments

• August 15th, Sunday Journal with Sarah Colvin, interviews Sandra Larsen and Jared Collins. Streamed live on the internet at capecodbroadcasting.com

• Nstar stock page at finance.yahoo.com finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NST headline from Boston Business Journal:
Cape Businesses Oppose Nstar Spraying boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2010/08/09/daily19.html?ana=yfcpc

Decide for yourself-- read the pesticide LABELS: nstar_actions.html