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Resident urges Patrick County to probe roadside spraying after dozens of trees wilt
Summary
A Patrick County resident told supervisors that herbicide spraying by a contractor is killing trees along Scenic Drive and elsewhere; residents said they received no MSDS notices and raised groundwater and fire-safety concerns, and board members asked staff to explore contacting the contractor to improve notification.
During the public-comment portion of the Patrick County Board of Supervisors meeting, resident Richard Landis described widespread tree damage he attributes to recent roadside herbicide applications and asked the board to intervene.
"I noticed that all the trees, approximately 100 trees in the front of my property, was starting to die," Landis said. He told the board he drove down Scenic Drive and saw other properties with dead or dying trees and that he traced the cause to a contractor identified as AE. Landis said he received no MSDS sheets and that he was concerned about overspray reaching neighbors’ yards and private wells: "I have no idea what they sprayed. They didn't put an MSDA sheet in my mailbox. I have no idea. Maybe it's Agent Orange." He said he called multiple state agencies without a resolution and that AE's president, Brad Abraham, later called to say he would send someone to inspect.
Other commenters in the public comment period corroborated similar spray incidents and described application methods they said included cutting into trunks and placing chemical into the cut. Speakers raised drought and fire-risk concerns because the treated vegetation had become highly flammable.
Board members acknowledged the complaints. Supervisor Wood suggested the county reach out to AE to request direct notice to resident households and to explore a do-not-spray list: "If we could reach out to that as a county, I think a lot of people share the same beliefs." The board did not adopt a motion during the meeting to direct formal enforcement action; supervisors asked staff to look into options and follow up.
The resident's claim that AE sprayed the road right-of-way and caused tree deaths is unresolved in the meeting record; AE's president told Landis he would send a representative to inspect but no county enforcement action was recorded during the session.
