Building on a similar victory in October, Environment Maine and three other groups got Jasper Wyman & Son to stop aerial pesticide spraying on its 7,000 acres of fields. After being threatened with legal action for discharging pesticides into rivers and streams in violation of the federal Clean Water Act, Jasper Wyman & Son, one of the largest agribusinesses in the state, agreed to stop aerial pesticide spraying.

“It’s too bad it took the threat of a lawsuit to convince Wyman to comply with the law, but this is nonetheless a victory for keeping toxic pesticides out of Maine’s waters,” said Environment Maine Advocate, Matthew Davis.

Last October, Cherryfield Foods agreed to stop aerial pesticide spraying on its 10,000 acres of fields after Environment Maine, Toxics Action Center, Sierra Club and Beyond Pesticides threatened similar legal action for spraying pesticides into the Pleasant River and nearby streams.

Pesticides in our waterways
Studies conducted by the Maine Board of Pesticides Control over the past five years show that the active ingredients in three different pesticides— phosmet, propiconazole, and fenbuconazole—landed directly in the Narraguagus River and its tributaries after being sprayed from Wyman aircraft. The Narraguagus is also home to endangered Atlantic salmon.

Environment Maine will continue to protect our waterways from pesticides by stopping aerial pesticide spraying and increasing oversight and testing of pesticide application. Currently, Environment Maine is also working to pass legislation that will give the public the right to know specifically when, where and in what amounts pesticides are sprayed in our communities.

Cleaner Cars, Cleaner Air

In April, Environment Maine’s Matthew Davis helped secure the Natural Resources Committee’s support of the Cleaner Cars program.

The Cleaner Cars program, which requires that about 10 percent of the new cars sold in the state by 2009 be either hybrids or the cleanest gasoline cars, would cut smog and air toxics pollution by 240 tons per year by 2020. Maine suffers from air pollution, the largest contributor being cars; half of our counties have unhealthy levels of smog, and all counties have elevated risk of cancer from air toxics.

Environment Maine Research & Policy Center recently authored and released Ready to Roll, a report highlighting the clean technologies available in hybrid and gasoline cars today, and the benefits for Maine for reducing air pollution and vehicle maintenance costs.

Despite the availability of cleaner technology and the threat air pollution poses to public health, GM and DaimlerChrysler are working to weaken or defeat the Cleaner Cars program, just as they did against seatbelts and air bags.

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