Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pesticide Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sierra Club and residents urge board to phase out herbicide spraying to protect drinking water
Summary
Sierra Club's testimony called for phasing out routine herbicide spraying on and near state forests, saying drift threatens surface and groundwater and harms rural drinking‑water users.
Carol Ballantine, speaking for the Sierra Club's Oregon chapter during online testimony, asked the board and ODF to move immediately to phase out spraying of toxic herbicides on state forest timber operations, arguing that drift and repeated applications threaten drinking water and downstream coastal communities.
Ballantine said "Far too many rural and coastal Oregonians have been subjected to decades of exposure to toxic chemicals applied on private timberlands and our state forests" and called continued industrial‑scale spraying an environmental injustice. She urged the board to eliminate spraying in state forests used for drinking water and to consider phased approaches in implementation plans.
Board members acknowledged the concern but did not direct a specific rule change at the meeting. The issue was recorded by multiple commenters during the public forum and will be part of the record for the FMP rulemaking and future AOP/IP discussions.
