Town leaders question Housatonic Railroad’s herbicide treatment plan

KENT — At its March 12 meeting, the Conservation Commission discussed next steps regarding a recent herbicide plan submitted by the Housatonic Railroad Co., which many commission members felt to be incomplete or even defiant of legislation.

Submission of the plan was first announced at the March 5 Board of Selectmen meeting when the commission discussed the Vegetation Management Plan it had received from TEC Associates Consulting Engineers, the firm the railroad employs for its herbicide program.

Selectman Lynn Mellis Worthington noted that the plan seemed to be lacking information required by new regulations passed in July 2024 that requires much greater transparency and specificity regarding herbicide use by railroads in Connecticut.

The document then came under scrutiny by the Conservation Commission, which found similar shortcomings. The group noted the document is almost identical to plans submitted in previous years, while the new regulations call for several other auxiliary plans and much greater detail.

“I don’t want to make you dizzy,” said commissioner Connie Manes while flipping between the 2025 document and earlier iterations on the Zoom screen, “I just want to show you that it looks pretty much the same.” Other members of the commission agreed, with Commission advisor Jos Spelbos declaring that it “doesn’t do anything different.”

Worthington was also present at the meeting and noted that the issue was personal to her as her property contains a well close to the railroad. “I don’t think they’ve given us what we’re supposed to have,” she asserted.

The 2024 legislation, which was originally posed by the Housatonic Herbicide Working Group, was meant to align Connecticut’s regulations with much stricter railroad herbicide oversight in Massachusetts.

The group was formed in an attempt to work with the railroad to come up with a sustainable plant management plan but presented the issue to state government after the railroad failed to respond to any attempted communication.

State Rep. Maria Horn, D-64, and State Sen. Stephen Harding, R-30, who brought the bill to the floor, maintained that the railroad has been difficult to work with.

There was speculation among some on the Conservation Commission that the railroad was continuing this pattern by seeking a loophole in the new regulations which might immunize itself from the law for another year. The commission decided the wording of the legislation needed to be reviewed with Horn and Harding, as well as Bruce Bennett, co-founder of the Housatonic Herbicide Working Group.

Bennett confirmed in a separate correspondence that the review is ongoing, as the group is “looking into some questions that we have concerning when the law/bill is going into effect.”

Housatonic Railroad Co. did not reply to request for comment on its Vegetation Management Plan.