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Ulster County environment staff defends pesticide ban on county land and outlines waiver history
Summary
The county’s Department of Environment briefed the committee on Local Law No. 4 (pesticide restrictions and waiver process) and the 2019 pollinator resolution, detailing waiver approvals and denials, including multiple Catskill Mountain Railroad requests and subsequent disputes over spraying on easement land.
Director Bicking told the Energy, Environment, and Sustainability Committee that Local Law No. 4 prohibits use of toxic chemical pesticides on county-maintained land and establishes a waiver process overseen by an advisory committee that includes the Department of Environment, public works, soil and water conservation, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Environmental Management Council. The law assigns enforcement to the Department of Health.
Bicking described Article Two’s emphasis on least-toxic practices, the waiver criteria (a high test typically reserved for serious public-health threats) and a history of few granted waivers. The director said the advisory committee performs a detailed, multifactor analysis of any requested chemical and that waivers are area- and chemical-specific.
The committee discussed several recurring waiver requests from the Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR). Staff summarized the CMRR record as denials in 2010, 2017 and 2018; approvals from 2019 through 2023; and denials in 2024–2026. After a recent denial, county staff said CMRR treated a segment of corridor where the county holds only a trail easement (not a deeded corridor) and sprayed herbicide there, prompting closer oversight. Legislator Nolan said waivers granted in the past were rescinded when recipients exceeded their terms.
On the county’s 2019 pollinator resolution (Resolution 375), Bicking said the county inventory requires annual reporting of toxic chemicals used on county property, encourages planting host and nectar species for local pollinators and promotes carbon-sequestering grasses and native plantings. Staff said availability of native seed mixes has improved since 2019 and recommended using the county’s sustainable purchasing guidance to prioritize native trees and shrubs for county projects, including the new Government Operations Center landscaping.
Committee members asked whether the local law needs updating; Bicking and the deputy executive said the law is largely working as intended and that waivers have been rare but closely reviewed. Legislators asked to be kept informed when waivers are granted so the legislature can monitor compliance and impacts.
The department will collaborate with the sustainable purchasing working group and legislative sponsors to draft targeted amendments (for example clarifying native-tree and shrub priorities) and to continue public education and staff training.
