Legislators react to herbicide use along Housatonic Railroad track

Community leaders maintain that recent herbicide spraying conducted by the Housatonic Railroad Co. (HRRC), done just days before new regulations took effect, is part of a broader pattern of regulatory gaming demonstrated by the railroad.

On May 21, Governor Lamont signed Connecticut House Bill 5219, which had been unanimously passed by the state legislature. The bill, which went into action July 1, requires railroads to notify the Department of Transportation and town officials 21 days prior to any herbicide application, as well as to submit a yearly operational plan detailing their vegetation management programs.

In the last week of June HRRC sprayed herbicide along tracks between New Milford and North Canaan without any announcement to the affected municipalities. The abruptness of the spraying has reignited concerns of residents and local leaders alike.

“The railroad’s actions prior to July 1 were an example of the necessity to pass this legislation,” said State Sen. Stephen Harding (R-30).

Harding maintained that communicating with the HRRC has been a challenge since he assumed office. “This legislation became necessary because it became obvious to both Rep. Horn and myself that our constituents’ voices and concerns were being completely ignored by the railroad,” he explained, referencing State Rep. Maria Horn (D-64), who pushed the bill forward with him.

After years of work to build a dialogue, Horn expressed disappointment that HRRC sprayed without prior notice.

“That’s not part of the ingredients for good conversation,” said Horn.

Horn noted the new legislation was designed to match the regulations followed by HRRC in Massachusetts, which are based on federal Environmental Protection Agency guidelines of how and where herbicide can be used.

“These regulations were designed to improve quality of life,” she said.

Kent Tree Warden Bruce Bennett, who co-founded the Housatonic Herbicide Working Group (HHWG) alongside Anna Timmel, Heidi Cunnick, and Woods Sinclair, said that the railroad ignored their complaints and attempts at contact until after bill 5219 was passed. Harding agreed, saying that it was only after he and Rep. Horn proposed the bill that the railroad “came to the table.”

In addition to the new requirement of advanced notice for pesticide application alongside the implementation of yearly operational plans and broader vegetation management plans, the bill also follows Massachusetts regulations by limiting spraying near sensitive areas. This aspect of the legislations includes strict restrictions in proximity to water sources, wells, and agricultural land.

“The border should not dictate which environment and ecology gets damaged and which does not,” explained Harding. The disparity in law between Connecticut and Massachusetts was a major impetus behind the bill he said, noting that “the indiscriminate measures [the railroad was] taking in Connecticut were certainly not being done in Massachusetts.”

Railroads are required by the Federal Railroad Safety Act to manage vegetation in track right-of-ways to mitigate fire risk, visual impairment for drivers, and both passenger and employee injury.

Spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Michael Cortez said that as it stands, herbicides are “the best and most efficient way of spraying via hi-rail vehicle” due to railroads’ need to cover both their track beds and “adjacent right-of-ways.”

Cortez also noted that global warming has augmented the need for herbicide use on railways, since increased precipitation in recent years has accelerated vegetation growth.

Locals also worry about the type of herbicides used by the railroads. According to Cortez, the MTA uses a mixture of five herbicides in its application program, including a chemical known as Method 240. The HRRC has not confirmed the specific composition of their herbicide mixture (as of July 16, there has been no response to several attempts to contact the railroad).

Complaints levied against the railroad’s herbicide spraying go back at least as far as 1991, as illustrated by a New York Times article detailing the railroad’s aspirations to bring passenger rail service back to the Northwest Corner. Bennett, however, maintained that the problem is not with the chemicals themselves, but with how they are used.

HRRC’s unannounced herbicide spraying was legal, but it has reinforced a negative view of the railroad’s willingness to cooperate.

When asked about potential renegotiations with the railroad and legislators, Harding replied, “for now it’s the law.” Moving forward, he plans to follow the guidance of the HHWG and his concerned constituents over anyone else.

Horn stated there could be a need to revisit the language of the bill to ensure the legislation is enforceable.

“We may need some more regulatory procedures to make this work,” she said. “We want it to be clear and easy to follow.”