Media Release:

Environmental Group To File Lawsuit To Stop Pesticide Spraying In Massachusetts Lakes And Ponds: Group Calls for Immediate Halt to State Subsidies for Aquatic Pesticides

For More Information: Matthew Wilson 617-747-4389 or
Josh Kratka 617-422-0880

For Immediate Release: June 11, 2002

STOW: Standing on the public beach at Lake Boon, a statewide environmental group announced its intention to file a lawsuit on behalf of local residents to stop the spraying of toxic pesticides into the lake.

The suit, to be filed under the federal Clean Water Act by Toxics Action Center, would be the first of its kind in New England and could lead to a moratorium on aquatic pesticide applications at lakes, ponds and streams throughout Massachusetts.

"Aquatic pesticides not only pose a threat to public health and the environment but they are ineffective for long-term control of weeds. To top it off, using them without a permit is illegal," said Matthew Wilson, director of the Toxics Action Center. "Our state government should immediately stop using scarce tax dollars to subsidize the illegal use of toxic chemicals."

On June 6, employees of Lycott Environmental, Inc., applied the pesticide Sonar (active ingredient: fluridone) and possibly other pesticides to Lake Boon under a two-year contract with the towns of Stow and Hudson to kill weeds in the lake.

Half the funding to pay for the Lake Boon pesticides was supplied by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Lakes and Ponds Grant Program. Over the past nine years, the program has awarded 72 grants totaling nearly $650,000 to subsidize the use of pesticides in 52 Massachusetts lakes and ponds.

"Dumping pesticides into Lake Boon, or any other lake or pond, without a Clean Water Act discharge permit from the EPA is a clear violation of federal law," explained Josh Kratka, a senior attorney with the National Environmental Law Center.

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters unless the discharger has obtained and complies with a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency specifying the terms and conditions under which pollutants may be released. EPA is charged with determining the safety of pesticides and, with public input, placing limitations on their use in lakes and ponds.

Citizens may sue violators of the Clean Water Act after providing 60 days notice to the violator and EPA. Today, Toxics Action Center sent 60-day notice letters to Lycott Environmental, the Commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Management, the Lake Boon Commission, and the towns of Stow and Hudson, advising them of their intent to sue to enforce the Clean Water Act on behalf of its members who use Lake Boon.

"We hope that legal action will halt the application of toxic pesticides and force lake advocates and government officials to come up with more effective and non-toxic methods of weed control and lake management," said Barbara J. Ernst, whose house is on Lake Boon.

The town of Wayland recently rejected the use of Sonar and other pesticides and organized an effort to hand-pull and then suction weeds from Dudley Pond, with the help of local volunteers and local business support.

"Pesticides registered for use by the federal government have not been tested for health effects in humans. The regulatory process in this country allows a new chemical to be used until proven harmful," explained biologist Sarah Little. "For most synthetic chemicals, including the aquatic pesticides used in Lake Boon and elsewhere in Massachusetts, the full range of human health effects are still not known or understood. What we don't know includes effects on fetal development, brain development, child development, immune systems, nervous systems, reproductive systems, aging bodies, chemical sensitivity, and cancer."

Since 1987, the Toxics Action Center has helped more than 450 neighborhoods across New England fight toxic pollution in their communities. The Boston-based National Environmental Law Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that represents citizens and citizen groups nationwide in environmental enforcement suits.