by Ken Kipen
From early on, it’s been the momentum of the issue itself that has given us the opportunities to leverage our gains. Mass Highway’s program of spraying herbicides for the purpose of killing roadside weeds was seen by a wide cross- section of political persuasions to be a needless human and environmental health-hazard arising from highway run-off and wind-drift of the chemicals. Proof of this inevitability, the regular occurrence of road-salt pollution of private wells, has allowed a constituency of opposition to be easily organized in western counties, and to grow dramatically in a relatively short time.
The Coalition had its first meeting last December. By April, Ashfield had been exempted from this year’s spraying. As opposition spread throughout the region, Mass highway periodically issued edicts that not only kept that constituency agitated, but enraged town officials as well. In May, MassHighway’s Commissioner wrote back to 11 select boards that had written to him opposing the program, that their towns could avoid being sprayed only if they agreed to maintain state highway guardrails with town crews, at town expense. Opposition sparked quickly into outrage.
The issue was now aflame in the entire region. In early and June a public information meeting took place in Ashfield to describe the spray-program, and solicit public comment. More than 250 over-wrought residents attended from four counties. So many lined up to speak their opposition that a great number were left unheard. Anticipating this, postcards addressed to Mass highway were made available so everyone who came would have the opportunity to express their rage then and there, and over a hundred more did so. DFA Commissioner Healy and six members of his Pesticide Bureau came to the meeting to quell the uprising. They were challenged continuously during their presentation by a crowd unmollified by assurances of the safety of the chemicals, or of so-called “controlled application.” Civil disobedience was openly advocated if spray-crews were encountered. MassHighway’s high Commissioner didn’t appear at either meeting.
Just after that meeting MAHB’s Marcia Benes and Richard Taylor, the latter having testified there, followed up by writing a four-page letter to the Commissioner, challenging DFA’s Pesticide Bureau approval of the chemicals in the absence of studies, lack of identification of inert ingredients, and non-consideration in benefit-risk assessments of “projected costs incurred from groundwater and aquifer contamination from each herbicide as well as the impact of each on health care costs from persons contracting acute and chronic illnesses associated with their use.” Seeing public opposition building within Franklin, Hampshire and Berkshire Counties, now with the accelerating support of town health and select boards, Senator Rosenberg and the Western Mass. Legislative Delegation intervened on behalf of their constituents. By late June Mass highway had rescinded its edicts, and called off spraying in fully half the state from just west of Worcester to the N.Y. line, excepting 1-91 and 1-291 from Springfield south.
Our campaign is ongoing. Last June Mass Highway’s herbicide-spray program was fully carried out in eastern Massachusetts where there was little local opposition. The Coalition now needs to become an east-west Alliance to defeat the program statewide. The challenge looms larger as a new 5-year Vegetation Management Plan is now being formulated by MassHighway, concurrent with the DFA Pesticide Bureau’s revision of its Rights-of-Way Regulation. Early drafts allow spraying within wetlands and 25' of rivers, streams, or reservoirs, egregious exemptions from the 100'-200' buffer-zone requirements of the Wetlands and River Protection Acts.
As awards often inspire rededication, our acceptance directs renewed energy towards the greater resolve made necessary by this more formidable threat. We vow to resist with all available means this complicity of state agencies that would use our tax money for such a trivial purpose, the certain real cost of which is polluted wildlife habitat and poisoned drinking water resources. Alaska, California, and most recently the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont have recognized this and already outlaw the practice.
We asked all candidates for Governor for position statements regarding MassHighway’s guardrail herbicide-spray program. Now, we seek help in forging the east-west Alliance so critically needed to eliminate this needless human and environmental health-hazard from our state.
(The Hilltown Anti-herbicide Coalition may be reached via Ken Kipen by e-mail to kenfires@aol.com, by USPS to Box 183, Ashfield, MA 01330, or by phone at 413/628-3854)