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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 2
October 2006
MLA secures Maine emergency pesticide limits
KENNEBUNK, ME – In April of this year, Maine Gov. John Baldacci signed emergency legislation to protect marine waters and organisms in the coastal areas of York, Cumberland, and Sagadahoc counties.
LD 1657, “An Act to Minimize the Risk to Maine’s Marine Waters and Organisms Posed by the Application of Pesticides,” was proposed by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) to create buffer zones between pesticide-treated areas and the high-tide mark.
“MLA members have been concerned about the spraying of pesticides to control browntail moths for more than 10 years,” said Patrice McCarron, MLA executive director. “These chemicals clearly state on the label that they should not be applied directly to water.”
Of particular concern is the aerial spray program – lobstermen have observed the spray hitting their docks and the water – and fears that the type of pesticides used to kill the moths can be dangerous to lobsters.
Rather than continue reacting to proposed spray programs year after year, the MLA decided to submit a bill to establish buffer zones to push pesticide spraying away from the water, McCarron explained.
Sponsored by state Rep. Leila Percy of Phippsburg, the emergency law limits the public or private application of pesticides to control the browntail moth and bans aerial spraying within 250' of the high-water mark. It also prohibits the use of handheld spray guns to apply pesticides within 50' of the high-water mark.
The emergency law has a sunset provision and will expire on March 31, 2007.
The spraying issue developed because of public health concerns. The hairs of browntail moth caterpillars and of the moths that emerge in July are toxic, capable of causing respiratory problems and a rash similar to poison ivy. The hairs persist in the environment and continue to cause irritations over time.
Monitoring, assessment
The emergency legislation charged the Maine Board of Pesticides Control (BPC) with completing an assessment of the risks and benefits relating to pesticide applications near marine waters and reporting its findings to the state Legislature by Jan. 2, 2007.
BPC’s Environmental Risk Advisory Committee (ERAC) has examined the pesticide issue. Among the ERAC’s members are: Carl Wilson, Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) lobster biologist; John Sowles, DMR marine ecologist; Larry LeBlanc, University of Maine at Orono environmental geochemist; and Andrew Berry, aerial applicator.
According to the ERAC report, several types of pesticides are used for the control of browntail moth, including Astro permethrin 36.8%, which is a pesticide that is extremely toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates, and Tempo 2 cyfluthrin 24.9%, which is toxic to fish.
The report stated that both pesticides should not be applied directly to water or to areas where surface water is present or to intertidal areas below the mean high-water mark because drift and runoff from treated areas may be hazardous to aquatic organisms in neighboring areas.
During this year’s spraying season in late May and early June, four sites were monitored for permethrin and cyfluthrin drift, one site for each of the four major applicators. At each site, depending on tree canopy and available space, drift card stations were set up, oriented parallel with the wind direction and usually away from the water, according to Paul Schlein, BPC public information officer.
“Approximately 70 drift cards are currently being analyzed at the Food Chemical Safety Lab at the University of Maine at Orono,” Schlein said in mid-August. “Results are due back soon, at which point a report will be written and shared with interested parties.”
McCarron added that the MLA has supplied some funding to the University of Maine for lab materials to test residues.
Proactive measures
As part of its assessment, the BPC held a meeting in late July in Freeport to document concerns about the browntail moth rash and the potential impacts of spraying on marine organisms.
BPC accepted written comments through Aug. 4 and received a total of 15, Schlein said. MLA’s McCarron expressed concern about the effects on lobsters and asked that the BPC err in favor of protecting lobsters.
Browntail moth population levels vary from year to year with some experts suggesting that the insects may undergo a five- or 10-year cycle. The Maine Forest Service reported that the number of moths found this year was down due to a rainy spring.
However, the MLA plans to be proactive on this issue in order to have a solution in place regardless of whether the browntail moth population is way up or way down, according to McCarron.
“We are hoping to have a better understanding of what chemicals were used and where and in what quantities so that we can have a better understanding of the potential impacts on lobsters and marine systems as a whole,” she said. “We hope that the BPC work will be fair and complete so, based on that, we can put a permanent solution in place.”
Schlein said the dip in the browntail moth population and spraying this year will be noted in the final report to the Legislature.
“But the presumption that this is a low year in the cycle and that they will be back in great numbers in the future has to be considered,” he said.
McCarron reiterated that the MLA intends to push for a permanent solution.
“We don’t really care what the solution is,” she said. “What we do care about is that there is a mechanism in place so that if/when pesticides are sprayed, it is done in a way that guarantees it will not hit the shoreline or land in the ocean.”
For more information on browntail moth spraying, call McCarron at (207) 985-4544 or visit the BPC web site at <www.maine.gov/agriculture/pesticides>.
Rosanne Mizzoni
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