Brick official objects to use of Dimilin
Jackson mayor, council ponder ways to battle gypsy moth infestation
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer
ABrick Township councilwoman is asking Jackson officials not to use the pesticide Dimilin to kill gypsy moths.

Some Jackson officials have indicated in recent weeks that the use of Dimilin is a possibility as they seek to head off another year of property damage caused by gypsy moths.

Brick Township Councilwoman Kathy Russell is objecting to the possibility that Dimilin could be sprayed.

"The Metedeconk River provides pure and clean drinking water to thousands of Brick families," Russell said in a press release issued Jan. 9. "Mayor (Mark) Seda's plan to spray the chemical Dimilin throughout Jackson, which will contaminate the Metedeconk River and our water supply, is totally irresponsible and selfish on his part."

Russell said she will not allow Brick residents to have their health threatened just so Seda can fix a problem that she said he created by not spraying for gypsy moths in 2007.

"Mayor Seda declined to join the state program last year for gypsy moth spraying, citing budget concerns," Russell said. "While it is unfortunate that Mayor Seda's decision created an extreme gypsy moth infestation that killed thousands of beautiful trees, his proposal to spray a much more potent pesticide this year will have potentially devastating consequences on the health of Brick children and families."

The waters of the Metedeconk River originate in Jackson and flow downstream through Brick, supplying the Brick reservoir with drinking water and providing clean water down into the Barnegat Bay, she said.

Russell said the reservoir provides drinking water for several towns in the area. She said Dimilin, the trade name for diflubenzuron, is an insect growth regulator that is classified as a restricted-use pesticide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and has been banned by the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from aerial application.

"I will not sit idly by while our drinking water and the health of our residents is compromised," Russell said. "I will ask the other members of the Brick Township Council to join me in taking action to prevent this potential threat. If Mayor Seda persists with his plan, I will ask our attorney to institute legal action to prevent his administration from contaminating our water supply." Informed of the Brick councilwoman's objection to the possible use of Dimilin in Jackson, Seda said he shares Russell's concerns.

"That's why I did all the research," the mayor said. "Unfortunately the councilwoman has yet to take an opportunity to look at the facts."

Seda said Jackson did an aerial spraying in 2005 and the gypsy moth infestation doubled. He said Jackson sprayed again in 2006 and the gypsy moth infestation doubled once more. In 2007 the township did not participate in the state's aerial spraying program and the gypsy moth infestation continued to double, he said.

"I certainly believe we have to take every precaution possible to protect anyone's drinking water, including our own," Seda said. "I took the time, did the research and got all the professionals at the state level involved and they made recommendations back."

Seda said the EPA and the DEP have no problem with the ground-spraying program Jackson officials have discussed, as long as the chemical (Dimilin) stays away from open waterways.

"The council has yet to make a determination" about how to handle the gypsy moth situation, the mayor said. "It's my job as mayor to look at every alternative that makes sense for the township."

The aerial-spraying program coordinated by the state uses Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) to suppress the gypsy moths.

"Kathy Russell should take the time and look at the facts and make a recommendation," Seda said. "Simply to say ignore the problem and it will go away or have the state program and hope for the best is not the answer.

"We got the state involved," he said. "The state needs to step up to the plate and spray their land. I've spoken to our legislators locally and they've gotten involved. Something has to be done at the state level. Jackson bears the largest portion throughout the state with the problem.

"Leaving it to the municipalities to deal with the problem is completely unfair to any township, let alone the township (Jackson) with the largest responsibility and with the largest state land surrounding it," the mayor said.

"Simply going along with the state plan has not been the answer to our problem," Seda said. "The state has to get involved. We need to find alternative ways."

Jackson Councilwoman Emily Ingram said she received an e-mail reply to her request for information regarding Dimilin and Bt from the DEP's Pesticide Bureau of Compliance Chief John Orrok.

"He explained to me that the DEP has regulations that are more strict than the regulations of the EPA," Ingram said this week. "They prohibit broad spectrum pesticides by aerial spraying. If you use a pesticide that uses more than the targeted area, that's considered to be broad spectrum."

The reason why the DEP is against using Dimilin for aerial spraying is because it falls in the category of broad spectrum, she said.

Ingram said Orrok indicated there is no prohibition on the use of Dimilin when used in a ground-spraying program.

Ingram said Orrok referred her to Internet Web sites that indicate, according to the Reregistration Eligibility Decision fact sheet issued by the EPA in August 1997, that Dimilin has a low toxicity level and falls into a category of No. 3, the second lowest of four categories (when used on the ground) or level No. 4 when ingested by the oral or inhalation routes (as in gypsy moths).

The toxic levels of Bt, also known as Able, is also level No. 3 and No. 4 and that data is also found in a fact sheet issued by the EPA and last updated Dec. 28.

Ingram said a decision is needed on the matter. She noted that Dimilin, when applied by a ground program, must stay 250 feet from waterways.

Jackson Councilman ScottMartin said, "There is no chance that (ground) spraying will affect any drinking water."

Martin said he spoke with representatives of Virginia, Maryland,West Virginia and Ohio, and reported that Dimilin had been used for more than two decades in those states and said there have been no problems reported with drinking water.