The sneaky business of pesticides

Pesticides to be stripped from Clean Water Act - Call your Senator!
Last week we alerted readers to behind-the-scenes lobbying in Congress that would strip pesticide protections from our nation's stongest environmental laws. On Tuesday, June 21st, the Senate Agriculture Committee quietly approved legislation to exempt pesticide applications from permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act — with no notice, and no press.

The bill, Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011 (H.R. 872) would reverse a 2009 court order requiring the permits as a part of the National Pollutant Discharge System (NPDES). Instead, pesticides would remain subject only to the much weaker statute under which most pesticides are regulated, the Federal Insecticide Fungicide Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). H.R. 872 has already passed in the House of Representatives.
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Too many unknowns exist to persist in herbicide use

CapeCodonline  June 21, 2011

I urge readers to sign the GreenCAPE petition against herbicidal spraying, at Change.org.

Our sole-source aquifer is at risk of contamination. People are talking about herbicides, from Provincetown to Sandwich. 

Indeed, two of the five toxic chemicals NStar intends to spray under the power lines have been in the news recently. The first is glyphosate. Consumers know this chemical as Roundup, a powerful weed killer. 

According to a report by Earth Open Source, Monsanto and industry regulators have known for decades that glyphosate causes birth defects in laboratory animals.

The second herbicide is imazapyr, which the National Seashore plans to use on a Truro cranberry bog. This chemical kills reeds, known as phragmites. The Seashore also intends to apply imazapyr at Herring Pond, in Wellfleet, this fall. One study found imazapyr in groundwater eight years after its application.

At a time when herbicide use across the country has come under intense scrutiny, it seems crazy to persist in using herbicides. Scientists are connecting the dots and realizing toxic chemicals can lead to autism, ADHD and other diseases.

Since traces of these herbicides will end up in our drinking water, I urge those responsible at both NStar and the National Seashore to seek safer options.

Alexandra Grabbe

Wellfleet

Stop the pesticide industry from stripping protections from our laws

http://panna.org/issues/related-actions/stop-pesticide-industry-its-tracks 

Right now, behind closed doors in DC, pesticide industry lobbyists are maneuvering to strip critical pesticide protections from federal law. And they think nobody’s watching. Please join us in telling Congress that quietly exempting pesticides from our nation’s strongest environmental laws is unacceptable.

We cannot let the pesticide lobby get away with their maneuverings to exempt pesticides from the Clean Water Act. The Endangered Species Act may be next.

Your action today will be a part of something bigger – a national groundswell of support for stronger protections based on better, independent science. PAN, the Center for Biological Diversity and 130+ allied groups have sent a letter to EPA letting them know that we want more — not less — protection from pesticides. The citizen groups on this letter (PDF) represent millions of members from across the country. 

Take action: http://action.panna.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7083

Read more: 

• California farmers, ecologists square off over drinking water pollution
• Sport fish contaminated along California's urban coastline
• Pesticides in well water linked to Parkinson's disease

• Pesticide spraying near streams to expand under Congressional bill

See Newton Herbicide Update 6 15 2011 here:  
http://tinyurl.com/UpdateJune152011

Roundup Birth Defects: Regulators Knew World's Best-Selling Herbicide Causes Problems, New Report Finds 

Report Summary: http://www.scribd.com/doc/57277946/RoundupandBirthDefectsv5#page=5

Rights-of-Way Sensitive Area Materials List  http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/Sensitive_Area_Materials.htm

MBTA- Rapid Transit Line [PDF]  http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/yop/MBTA-2011-YOP.pdf

Other Vegetation Management Plans  http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/plans.htm

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Division of Urban Parks Yearly Operational Plan 2011
Mass. Dept. Conservation & Recreation (2011-2015) [PDF]
DCR 2011 YOP.docx
396K   View   Download  

Hammond Pond-Lost Pond PKWY-Resv.pdf 143K   View   Download

Saw Mill Brook Area.pdf 228K   View   Download

Quinobequin Rd Charles River Rsrv.pdf 240K   View   Download