[A]n environmental group and a mosquito control district have reached a settlement over a controversial permit issued for two mosquito-killing pesticides.
The settlement was reached last Friday between Toxics Action Center, the Brandon-Leicester-Salisbury-Goshen-Pittsford Insect Control District and the state’s Agency of Natural Resources. It still has to be approved by the Vermont Environmental Court.
ANR gave approval last May to a plan for spraying malathion and permethrin — known as “adulticides” because they kill mature mosquitoes — in the BLSG Insect Control District, located at the western edge of the Green Mountain National Forest.
In June, the Environment and Natural Resources Clinic at Vermont Law School filed an appeal for the Toxics Action Center disputing the permit, accusing the state of failing to adequately “evaluate the impact on water quality and non-target aquatic organisms” under the terms and conditions of the state’s Pesticide General Permit.
This March, the BLSG district filed a motion for summary judgement with the court, which included additional information about when it would use larvicide and adulticide, and how they will be applied. Under the settlement agreement, ANR will add the additional information to the district’s pesticide control plan — making the district legally accountable for following its guidance.
Shaina Kasper, Vermont and New Hampshire director of Toxics Action Center, said the more detailed plan provides residents with more information to hold the district accountable and ensure is not “jumping right to adulticide.”
Kane Smart, attorney with the state Agency of Natural Resources, said the state was pleased that the two parties had reached an agreement, noting that ANR had not been involved in the settlement discussions.
The BLSG district maintains that its application as originally filed is “fully compliant” with the permit, according to the settlement agreement. Dave Cooper, attorney for the BLSG district, said he would not comment until the court issues an order on the settlement.
The district manages for both nuisance mosquitos and potential public health risks. Under the district’s integrated pest management plan, adulticide is used only as a “last resort option,” according to the additional filing.
The BLSG district is one of two mosquito control districts in the state. The other one —the Lemon Fair district, encompassing Bridport, Cornwall and Weyridge—has only used larvicides.
Benjamin Lawton, head of the BLSG district, said in an interview last year that the district has supplemented larvicide treatment with less expensive adulticide in recent years to stretch limited state funds. The district contains thousands of acres of swamps — ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Last year, 157 mosquito pools — or 5.2 percent of pools sampled by the state Department of Health — tested positive for West Nile Virus in Vermont. One human case of West Nile Virus in Bennington County was reported in 2018.
The Toxics Action Center initiated the appeal process on behalf of some residents living within the district who argue that adulticide spraying constitutes a human health and environmental risk.
Malathion is considered to have low toxicity to mammals, but is “highly toxic” to bees, some fish and amphibians and “moderately toxic” to birds, according to the National Pesticide Information Center. The center classifies permethrin as “highly toxic” to fish and bees. Although not classified as toxic to humans, the chemical can make people feel nauseous, and cause breathing difficulties and headaches when inhaled.
Wally Bailey of Salisbury is one of the district residents who opposes the use of adulticide. He said the lawsuit had brought greater awareness of the BLSG District’s work to member communities. This Town Meeting Day, Salisbury residents narrowly approved $25,500 in funding for the district, with $5,500 going toward legal fees.
Although Bailey opts out of spraying at his property, he and his wife — who has a compromised immune system — have been sprayed while walking, he said. Bailey also expressed concerns about the impact the adulticide on nearby wildlife. He cited a recent New York Times investigation showing that top political appointees to the federal Interior Department stifled the release of a report saying that malathion and another pesticide “jeopardize the continued existence” of over 1,200 endangered animals and plants.
“I’m an avid fishermen and I fish the waters they spray,” he said, adding that he does not eat fish he catches in those waters because of the use of adulticide.
Bailey said he sees the need for a mosquito control district, but wants to see the BLSG district rely on less toxic larvicides. He feels the district should not be spraying adulticides unless the state Department of Health, which monitors for mosquito-borne diseases, declares a public health emergency.
“I think they need more oversight, to be honest,” he said.
