Laura Kelley points to a few saplings growing beneath a section of power lines in Orleans.
“So that’s a pine, and those are oaks,” she said.
Kelley knows a lot about Cape Cod plant life. She runs an organic landscaping company in Eastham. And the fact is, she said, if these little trees are allowed to grow to their full height, they’d be a problem.
“They would grow and become a harm if there were a storm,” she said. “They could take down our electrical source. We don’t want that to happen. We’re all in that together. ”
Kelley understands why Eversource needs to manage tall-growing species along their utility rights of way. It’s the company’s method of keeping the vegetation down that she can’t support.
Eversource’s 2016 operational plan calls for 5 herbicidal chemicals to be sprayed onto tall-growing plants beneath transmission lines in Barnstable county.
Kelley is the director of Protect Our Cape Cod Aquifer, or POCCA, a group that’s trying to stop the practice. Dozens of local officials and legislators are on her side. POCCA’s main concern is that spraying could lead to groundwater contamination.
“They’ve done it inland for years,” Kelley said, “But we’re talking sandy soil above an aquifer, this is completely different natural conditions.”
All of Cape Cod’s drinking water is sourced from a single aquifer, and Kelley said that contamination of that aquifer by herbicidal chemicals could lead to a major public health crisis.
Eversource officials say that the mechanical alternatives that POCCA and town officials are pushing for are actually worse for the environment than herbicide spraying.
Michael Durand, a spokesperson for the company, said in an interview that mowing destroys low-growing plant species that are essential for wildlife habitats.
“Our program targets the invasive and tall-growing species,” Durand said. “And once those start to diminish, the low growing compatible species thrive and tend to take over on the right of way.”
Still, all 12 Cape Cod boards of selectmen have voted to oppose the spraying. But those votes to matter much. The five chemicals that Eversource plans to use are approved by the EPA. The Department of Agricultural Resources has even labeled them safe for use in environmentally sensitive areas. And it’s the state that ultimately reviews and approves Eversource’s yearly operational plan.
Four Cape towns have taken steps to stop Eversource from spraying since the company’s operational plan was approved. Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, and Dennis all have requested an adjudicatory hearing with the state pesticides board, and indicated that they’re ready and willing to take the matter to the courts.
If Eversource’s 2016 play is upheld, eight Cape towns -- Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Dennis, Falmouth, Orleans, Sandwich and Yarmouth -- will receive herbicidal applications this year.
