Brick official objecting to possible Dimilin use
Jackson mayor, council ponder ways to battle gypsy moth infestation
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON - A Brick 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 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. "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 problemthat she said he created by not spraying for gypsymoths in 2007.

"Mayor Seda declined to join the state programlast year for gypsymoth spraying, citing budget concerns," Russell said. "While it is unfortunate thatMayor Seda's decision created an extreme gypsymoth 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 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) fromaerial 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."

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 gypsymoth 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 theymade 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 howto handle the gypsymoth situation, the mayor said.

"It'smy job asmayor to look at every alternative that makes sense for the township," he said.

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."

Seda said it is unfair to leave municipalities to dealwith the problem, especially in amunicipality like Jackson, which has a large amount of state land surrounding it.

"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 John Orrok, who heads the DEP's Pesticide Bureau of Compliance.

"He explained to me that the DEP has regulations that are more strict than the regulations of the EPA," Ingram said. "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 that it falls in the category of broad spectrum, she said.

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