Statement by Lori Bank, Sedona (6-9-09 Open Forum)

 

 

Dear Mayor and Council,

 

I ask that you please reconsider your decision to resume toxic herbicide spraying in Sedona.  Before giving up on the herbicide-free approach you voted unanimously to adopt, please allow me to ask some questions about why the trial program has failed:

 

1.      Was an appropriate person, someone with a strong interest in eliminating herbicide use, put in charge?

2.      Was he given proper training?

3.      Was he given oversight?

4.      Were successful programs in other cities studied?

5.      Were the directors of successful programs consulted when problems arose?

 

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then the public is justified in expecting another, better planned and better run trial. 

 

Many cities in this country and elsewhere have what the citizens of Sedona want:  nontoxic weed and pest control.  On the handout provided is a list of some examples.  The list includes contact information for directors of programs who are eager to work with you.  In some cases, it includes details about the components of the program that help make them successful. 

 

Some of the programs listed are Integrated Pest Management or IPM programs.  When applied to weed control, the term Integrated Vegetation Management, or IVM, is often used.  Either term refers to an approach in which the least toxic method is always used first, and synthetic, harmful chemicals are used only rarely, as a last resort-- usually in emergencies involving a public health threat.  Even in these cases, toxins are used only until the underlying problem can be resolved.  Exemptions for herbicides are very rare.

 

In a recent Red Rock News article, reference is made to the Sedona City Council’s approval of an Integrated Vegetation Management program.  However, what the Public Works Department has been doing recently--  heavy spraying of toxic herbicides--  has no place in a true IVM program.  According to the same article, the city plans to use these chemicals on a pre-set schedule of five months each year!  Please do not call this IVM.  If IVM is what you want, you will need to appoint a trained IPM specialist or designate an appropriate city employee for training as an IPM coordinator.

 

Since your April 28 decision to resume the use of toxic herbicides, city employees have been referring to these products as “EPA-approved herbicides”.  However, the EPA does not approve herbicides but merely registers them.  EPA testing of pesticides, including herbicides, generally does not occur until a product has been on the market for many years.  EPA testing, when it finally occurs, frequently results in the banning of products that the public had long assumed were safe.  Please do not perpetuate this type of misperception by using the term “EPA-approved herbicides”. 

 

The herbicides Sedona has been using recently, Quick Pro and Surflan, are good examples of products that are often mistakenly assumed to be safe-- probably because they are readily available and commonly used.  Unfortunately, their active ingredients, glyphosate and oryzalin respectively, have been found to be harmful to humans and wildlife.  The dangers posed by these products will be elaborated on in another statement.

 

Please reconsider your April 28 decision and give Sedona’s residents the clean environment we have asked for.

 

Thank you for your time,

Lori Bank