The Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) began its annual brush-control program July 6, spraying herbicides along roads throughout Maine, including roads in most Lincoln County towns.
The DOT will spray roads in every Lincoln County town except Southport, Monhegan Island Plantation and Hibbert’s Gore.
According to statewide vegetation manager Bob Moosmann, DOT doesn’t dictate spraying schedules to contractors. Instead, contractors inform DOT which roads they plan to spray on a daily basis. Residents can contact DOT each day to receive updates and find out if their road will be sprayed.
Contractors will not spray Rt. 1 or any roads south of the Rt. 1 corridor until after Labor Day, Moosmann said, due to heavy summer traffic.
According to Moosmann, “Trees establish readily in roadsides throughout the state and present a continual challenge to the department. If we don’t remove them, they would quickly present an unacceptable risk to the traveling public.”
According to a July 1 DOT press release, trees obscure signs and traffic signals, limit visibility on curves and at intersections and driveways, and increase the risk of vehicle-pedestrian or vehicle-bicycle accidents.
The DOT also mows and cuts along roadsides, part of “an integrated approach designed to reduce our use of herbicides,” according to Moosmann.
Herbicides used by DOT include Garlon 4 (triclopyr), Krenite S (fosamine ammonium) and Escort XP (metsulfuron methyl). In the concentrations DOT uses, none of the chemicals present appreciable risk, Moosmann said.
“Triclopyr may cause people to have a slight skin irritation,” he said. Otherwise, “There really aren’t any health effects that have been discovered,” he said.
“These products present very low risk,” Moosmann said. “That’s why we choose them.”
In addition to careful selection of herbicides, contractors maintain a 150-foot buffer from residences, Moosmann said. “If they’re within 75, 50 feet of the road, we’re not going to spray there,” he said.
DOT also prohibits “powered spraying” within 100 feet of wells, springs, animal pastures, organic farms, pedestrians, bicyclists or picnic tables, and within 150 feet of parked vehicles, occupied buildings, or playgrounds.
Even away from homes, contractors only target trees and bushes of a certain size. “We’re not just blanketing the roads with herbicides, which is a common misperception,” Moosmann said. According to the press release, “Only hardwood brush up to six feet in height and softwood brush up to three feet in height is sprayed…”
DOT only uses one cup of the herbicide solution per “shoulder mile,” Moosmann said.
If anyone is at risk, Moosmann said, it’s the contractors who work with the herbicides in concentrate form.
If a landowner or municipality in Lincoln County is concerned about spraying, they can arrange a “No-Spray Agreement” with DOT by calling the Augusta office at 624-8200. Parties entering into an agreement, however, must agree to remove brush to DOT standards.