Lake George Herbicide Ruling
There was a recent legal action where the application of ProcellaCOR, the herbicide for Eurasian watermilfoil, was prohibited for use on St. George Lake. There has been misleading information presented regarding this action. The ruling against the use of ProcellaCOR was based on a procedural issue regarding public hearings for the permit. It was not “product” based. There was nothing indicated in the ruling that the use of ProcellaCOR as a product was prohibited or dangerous.
During the efforts at Lake George to apply ProcellaCOR, there were many public meetings where many questions were asked. Dave Wick, the Executive Director for the NYS Lake George Park Commission. prepared answers to many of the questions or statements. Please find his response to the public comments at the link below. The responses are very informative and are based on fact versus speculation or opinion.
https://apa.ny.gov/Mailing/2022/04/Regulatory/ApplicantResponsetoComments.pdf
Herbicides 2023
The CLP has been working with SOLitude (the herbicide contractor) developing maps to be sent to the NYS DEC. These maps identify where permits may be requested for herbicide application in 2023. The potential herbicide application sites are based upon surveys taken in 2022 and actual experience with excessive weeds (both pondweed and Eurasian watermilfoil) in 2022. We are hoping for a reasonable timeframe for response from the DEC so that the townships and villages can proceed with permit requests, and subsequent DEC approval early in the Spring, before the weeds grow too much.
There is a misunderstanding about the “biomass” that herbicides create. Killing the weeds early on in their growth process will indeed create some organic material (biomass) that will decay in the lake. HOWEVER, not killing the weeds early on in the growth process results in an even larger biomass decaying in the bottom of the lake when the weeds die at full growth size; and the cutting process results in clippings that decay and encourages even more weed growth through the summer. So killing the weeds as early as possible with herbicides prudently applied, results in less decaying biomass
CLPRA
The CLP wants to clarify that disbanding the Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency (CLPRA), which occurred in January, is unrelated to the actions the CLP pursues regarding prudent herbicide application. The CLPRA was established to evaluate a potential tax district to fund all lake projects for the future.