"A national environmental protection organization says that state leaders in Massachusetts lacked a permit and adequate monitoring for the weekend’s aerial spraying of pesticides to combat mosquitoes carrying eastern equine encephalitis."
"The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) released a statement on Monday saying that it is now asking for a federal investigation of the state’s decision to conduct aerial spraying of nearly 400,000 acres of land in a total of 21 communities. PEER said that state officials in Massachusetts improperly used 'the pretext of a new emergency' to improperly evade federal Clean Water Act regulations.
'Typically, aerial spraying of pesticides requires a federal pollution discharge permit but the permit may be dispensed with if the application is done ‘less than ten days after identification of the need for pest control’ — a requirement violated in this case,' PEER said in a statement. 'In addition, PEER charges that the state knew it would conduct aerial spraying in this area for months and is inappropriately using an emergency declaration to avoid the need for a permit. ... The permit is not merely red tape.'"
Marc Larocque reports for the Taunton Gazette July 23, 2012.
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