Glyphosate-based herbicides

Posted

Many of us have read the latest news related to glyphosate-based herbicides. It is a warning for us all to heed. Here’s an excerpt from one of the articles from www.theguardian.com:

“The jury’s verdict found not only that Monsanto’s Roundup and related glyphosate-based brands presented a substantial danger to people using them, but that there was ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that Monsanto’s officials acted with 'malice or oppression' in failing to adequately warn of the risks.”

JeffCo has sprays herbicides on county roadsides since 2010, when the commissioners overturned a 33-year-old  moratorium against spraying, established by then Commissioner B.G. Brown and the head of the county road crew.

In 2013, Jefferson County Ecological Roadsides, a local grassroots coalition, presented the commissioners with 5,000 signatures calling for them to halt spraying and reinstate the moratorium.   They refused, and one of the commissioners went so far as to demand we remove our “trash” (the stack of petitions) from the BOCC chambers.

We, and thousands of our neighbors were calling for a sound policy focusing on proper land management rather than a toxic spray program. “Trash” said the commissioners.

While the county Noxious Weed Board uses relatively small amounts of herbicide, The State DOT sprays thousands of gallons per year on Highway 20.   

Recall in 2016, both sides of Highway 20 were sprayed, continuously, from Port Townsend to Port Angeles and possibly beyond.

Because JeffCo also sprays, we have no standing to ask the state not to!  The county pays for spraying with $150,000 per year from the general fund.

In addition to the pollution of our land and waterways, and In light of this new ruling, it would seem if the county and state continue their present course, they may incur some legal liability.

Norm Norton

Port Townsend