Dan's Papers - May 9, 2008 - Sprayers Get Stung

Peconic Baykeeper Kevin McAllister has just wrapped up his presentations to the court in his lawsuit against Suffolk County regarding the damage done by both mosquito spraying and saltwater wetland ditching to our local bays and marshes. He and others contend that these methods of mosquito control are outdated and ineffective. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has acknowledged the same perspective in one of his State of the County addresses and yet Suffolk County Vector Control, which oversees the spraying, has continued to pursue these two procedures identified in the suit as actually being harmful to the environment.

As McAllister and local scientist from Stony Brook Southampton Christopher Gobler see it, the evidence is in. Scientific analysis of the waters in the bays and marsh ditches plus the tracking of the helicopter flight records for aerial spraying of insecticides have proven that pollutants are reaching the bays. Ditching (which transports run off from developed areas directly into the bays) and insecticides from mosquito spraying (labeled as being lethal to fish) are entering the waters of our bays.

The saltwater marshes that surround our bays act as kidneys, they're bio-filters that ameliorate the negative affects of run off from the upland areas that surround them. The run off is rainwater or surface water like irrigation that drains down through the soils and off of roadways and lawns, as it makes its way to the marshes. It can be carrying pollutants in the form of road run off, septic seepage or fertilizers from lawns and gardens that are high in phosphorus or nitrogen.

Marshes also act as nurseries for fish and shellfish, so they're an incredibly important part of the environment. Yet Suffolk County doesn't seem to be managing these vital areas very well, according to McAllister.

But most important, the overhead spraying of pesticides for mosquito control and the drainage ditches that have been dug to speed up water coursing through the marshes are not only harmful to shellfish and other marine life, the methods are generally ineffective in controlling mosquito populations. Even though County Executive Levy has acknowledged this, Vector Control forges ahead with the practices that dump pollutants in the bay and alter the natural beneficial filtering action of the marshes, according to the suit.

The overhead spraying of insecticides is the most controversial issue in the lawsuit. Flight records indicate that insecticides were released over the bay waters in some areas even though the chemicals applied are specifically prohibited for use around waters. Baby flounder and grass shrimp tested at Long Island Analytical labs were found to have lingering traces of pesticides in their tissues.

Claiming to prevent the spread of West Nile virus, this management practice seems to have been responsible for a number of fish kills instead. Fred Schiofolo, a local crabber, is a co-plaintiff in this federal lawsuit that was brought in under the Clean Water Act. He testified last week that after having witnessed several spraying events his catch was definitely diminished. Schiofolo found that when he would pull up his pots after the overhead spraying he found dead crabs. Other baymen have shared similar stories and many believe that the fish kills and flight records are direct evidence that the sprayed pesticide is getting into the bays.

The Connecticut and Rhode Island Lobstermen's Associations are watching the case closely and are looking forward to the final decision, which should be given soon. They believe that there is a very close relationship between the West Nile Virus prevention spraying of insecticides and the big lobster die-off several years ago.

A representative from the U.S. Geological Survey also testified in the case. By monitoring the water quality in areas that were scheduled to be sprayed just prior to and just after the spraying it was determined that some of the pesticides were ending up in the bay waters. Ultimately the Department of Environmental Conservation has jurisdiction over the use of these chemicals for mosquito control. According to McAllister, the County was served a notice of violation in August of 2001 for an event in Flanders Bay. Pesticides in the water were linked to a fish kill at that time.

All of the testimony and research seems to demand that Suffolk County begin to change its practices regarding mosquito spraying and salt marsh ditching as soon as possible. Many eyes in the fields of conservation and research and also the fishing industry are on this trial. Hopefully the balance of the decision will be in favor of the health of our bay waters.

But why this issue had to go to trial is a question in itself. In his 2005 State of the County Address Steve Levy stated, "We will launch an initiative to identify and restore our marsh wetlands that should actually reduce or eliminate the need to use pesticides in these areas to control mosquitoes. It's time to recapture and restore these environmentally important and productive ecosystems and by introducing more natural predators of the mosquito in these marshes, we will improve the fight against the health risks associated with mosquitoes." It is unfortunate that the county could not have worked a little more rapidly on its own goals.