What's new
We may have gotten two of the largest agribusinesses in the state to stop aerial pesticide spraying in Washington County, but the Clean Water Act is now under attack in Washington, D.C. Threats to the Senator Muskie's Clean Water Act include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) proposed rule that would exempt some kinds of pesticide spraying from the Clean Water Act and Rep. Otter's (R-ID) legislation to exempt all pesticide applications and agricultural runoff from the Clean Water Act.
Brief summary
Another win for waterways
Building on a similar victory in October, Environment Maine and three other groups got Jasper Wyman & Son to stop aerial pesticide spraying on its 7,000 acres of fields. After being threatened with legal action for discharging pesticides into rivers and streams in violation of the federal Clean Water Act, Jasper Wyman & Son, one of the largest agribusinesses in the state, agreed to stop aerial pesticide spraying.
Last October, Cherryfield Foods agreed to stop aerial pesticide spraying on its 10,000 acres of fields after Environment Maine, Toxics Action Center, Sierra Club and Beyond Pesticides threatened similar legal action for spraying pesticides into the Pleasant River and nearby streams.
Pesticides in our waterways
Studies conducted by the Maine Board of Pesticides Control over the past five years show that the active ingredients in three different pesticides—phosmet, propiconazole, and fenbuconazole—landed directly in the Narraguagus River and its tributaries after being sprayed from Wyman aircraft. The Narraguagus is also home to endangered Atlantic
salmon.
Environment Maine will continue to protect our waterways from pesticides by stopping aerial pesticide spraying and increasing oversight and testing of pesticide application. Currently, Environment Maine is also working to pass legislation that will give the public the right to know specifically when, where and in what amounts pesticides are sprayed in our communities.
