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07/21/2020 03:15 PMThe Board of Selectmen (BOS) approved a contract with Branford-based All Habitat Services, LLC, for treatment of invasive plant species at Lake Quonnipaug using the controversial herbicide glyphosate, more commonly known as Roundup, plus two other products, although the town must still wait for approval by the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP).
According to Environmental Planner Kevin MaGee, the “effective window” for combating invasive plant species that drive out native plants, potentially disrupting the local ecosystem, is closing. First Selectman Matt Hoey said it will be up to the state to approve permits and licenses for the treatment in a timely manner.
Invasive plants have also proven a barrier to boating and swimming on the lake, MaGee told the Courier.
If approved, two other herbicides will also be used: flumioxazin, which has been found to have extremely low toxicity on mammals according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and diquat dibromide, which has a moderate acute toxicity through skin exposure and can kill fish and other aquatic invertebrates.
The contractor is recommending the use of glyphosate only in the center shoal area of the lake, according to MaGee, making up only a small portion of the total treatment.
At a BOS meeting this month, town officials raised concerns about the potential impact specifically of the glyphosate, which has been linked to an array of diseases and negative health outcomes in humans, including cancer.
According to MaGee, the town has requested to use another type of herbicide, fluridone, to replace the glyphosate for at least a couple years, but the state has yet to approve it over fears it could adversely impact the ecosystem. MaGee said DEEP has to approve all chemicals used for these kinds of treatments in the state.
Treatments of the lake have been ongoing since around 2016, MaGee said, with some measure of success and beating back the invasive plants, which include milfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, and Eurasian watermillfoil.
Though the treatments have yet to be started, MaGee said when the contractor begins, the town will contact people who live on the lake and put up signs, cautioning residents against swimming, fishing, or watering livestock or plants with Lake Quonnipaug water for three to five days.
With glyphosate, MaGee said the biggest concern or risk was for the person applying the treatment, who must take specific precautions to avoid contact with the chemicals.
Originally, the plan was to do the herbicide treatments in May or early June before summer swimming, MaGee said (though the town has since announced there will be no swimming at Lake Quonnipaug this summer due to the pandemic). The state delayed those treatments, however, due to two endangered plant species that may still exist in certain parts of the lake