The state’s Department of Agricultural Resources will review Hopkinton’s proposed vegetative management plan that would allow use of herbicides on rights of way at a Zoom hearing this Friday.
Department of Public Works Director Kerry Reed outlined this plan at the Jan. 7 Conservation Commission hearing. It was developed with Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (CEI). The commission agreed to continue its discussion until its next meeting on Jan. 28 to give members more time to review this plan and the yearly operational plan (YOP) that accompanied it.
In a Jan. 15 email to the Independent, Reed explained why she believes the plan is necessary. She also discussed the concept of “rights of way” under Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) regulations.
“The regulation defines rights of way as ‘any roadway or thoroughfare on which public passage is made and any corridor of land over which facilities such as railroads, power lines, pipelines, conduits, channels or communication lines or bicycle paths are located,’ ” she noted. “The proposed VMP (vegetative management plan) would be used by the DPW to help with weed management along public roads, sidewalks and bike paths.”
She stressed that the VMP “would not be used for schools or other town property, like open space or playgrounds, which are managed under different state regulations.” HPS is authorized to use herbicides and pesticides under the state’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Plan.
Stated Reed: “Please note that the DPW reviewed the schools’ IPMs when developing the VMP.”
The VMP is a tool to combat the town’s growing problem with controlling “undesirable vegetation along roadways and sidewalks to improve safety,” Reed continued. One example she gave was cutting back poison ivy and invasives so pedestrians don’t have to walk in the street to avoid them. Their growth also can “obscure sight lines, crosswalks and signs.”
Hopkinton’s substantial population growth contributed to the decision to draft a VMP, according to Reed. Manual removal cannot keep up with the increasing public requests and the concurrent expansion of streets and sidewalks.
A VMP had been approved in the past for 2014-18, Reed noted, but it was never implemented.
While herbicides have been used at the schools, they also were utilized successfully in a targeted approach to control weeds in Lake Maspenock last summer, Reed stated.
Reed emphasized public outreach efforts. She met with the Hopkinton Sustainable Green Committee’s Environmental Working Group. Reed also sent copies of the VMP to the Select Board, Town Manager’s Office, Board of Health, Conservation Commission and Sustainable Green Committee (SGC). The plan is posted on the MDAR website, and its link is available on the town website.
Opposition raised over chemical use
Donald Sutherland, the SGG’s chair of the Environmental Working Group (EWG), is an ardent opponent of the VMP. He expressed his views at the Jan 7 Conservation Commission meeting and the Jan. 9 School Committee meeting, saying the EWG “does not think that it’s in keeping with the safeguarding of children and families as it’s administered in the town.”
He shared the EWG’s statement of opposition to the VMP with the Independent on Jan. 13.
Stressed Sutherland: “It is a blanket approval to expand the contamination of the community with toxic pesticides, instead of utilizing mechanical maintenance, anywhere the DPW designates [rights of way].”
In a follow-up email on Jan. 17, Sutherland called the VMP “a Trojan horse to expand the use of toxic herbicides where existing mechanical vegetation management by DPW has historically provided safety for the community.” He also stated that the VMP has “no annual internet reporting transparency for parents,” unlike the HPS IMP. There is no MDAR mandate for this type of reporting for a VMP.
The invasives problem could be managed by mechanical means if the DPW’s budget allowed for it, according to Sutherland.
The VMP “would compound the community’s budget expenditure to an undocumented reporting process that doesn’t account for the amount and estimated costs of pesticides and applicator fees,” he emphasized. “Even with the application of chemical pesticides, weeds still come back. If the current DPW mechanical vegetation management isn’t broken, just expand its use. There is no warrant to usher in a toxic chemical health threat to our town.”
He added that Ashland, Marblehead and Wellesley use organic vegetation management plans (OVMPs) as they move away from herbicide use.
Sutherland shared the World Health Organization’s stance on glyphosate as a possible carcinogen, although the Environmental Protection Agency does not agree. Studies, some funded by chemical manufacturers, show conflicting results.
Glyphosate, a synthetic herbicide patented in 1974, had been the active ingredient in the weed-killer Roundup. A recent fact sheet published by U.S. Right to Know revealed that more than 100,000 people sued Bayer, the parent company of Roundup’s manufacturer, alleging that they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after glyphosate exposure. Bayer pledged to remove glyphosate-based herbicides from the American consumer market by 2023, but they still are used agriculturally.
Town officials reserve comment on VMP
Judy Day, the town’s conservation administrator, noted that the Conservation Commission was to address the VMP at its next meeting.
“The conversation on [Jan. 7] was continued to the 28th to allow commission members who were not present the opportunity to provide feedback, and to give all members more time to review the project materials and public comments,” Day explained via email. “We would prefer to wait until after the commission discusses this at their next meeting to provide any additional comment.”
Two public comments were received by the Conservation Commission, Day added. One was the EWG’s statement. Linda Chuss, an HSGC and Trails Committee member, also provided a detailed letter.
In her letter, Chuss asked that “details of the locations, specific herbicides, amounts and application methods be provided.” She requested that proof of the lack of mechanical means not working be documented and what plants would be used to replace the invasives. While “not completely against the use of herbicides,” Chuss stressed they should be used sparingly and for a short duration.
Town Manager Elaine Lazarus confirmed that “the plan is not presently scheduled on a Select Board agenda for discussion.”
“There have been no emails to the Select Board email address, and no letters or calls to the office about the VMP,” she stated in a Jan. 14 email. While Select Board members were not asked by her office if they individually received correspondence, “I’m aware of one that received the email from Don Sutherland, and two that received an email from Linda Chuss,” Lazarus shared. “Those I know about because they were forwarded to me by them or by someone else.”
School Committee chair Nancy Cavanaugh and Superintendent of Schoos Carol Cavanaugh declined comment.
May I say a word for those who cannot speak? The toddler in a low stroller and our four legged friends who will travel our sidewalks where the use of poisons is being proposed are vulnerable. The proposed VPM allows the town to use pesticides when safer methods of nuisance plant management are simply less convenient. Glyphosate is banned n many countries. Like with the poisoning of Lake Maspenock, this is a dangerous road with unknown future consequences. I urge you to oppose the VPM and any program that relies on spreading poisonous chemicals on our lands and waters. Please look to the towns that already have organic and IPM plans in place and take the safe road.