GREEN GROUPS' LAWSUIT CHALLENGES 'EXPERIMENTAL' HERBICIDE APPLICATION TO LAKE GEORGE

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June 21, 2024

First she "paused" congestion pricing in New York City, now she's set to "poison" Lake George in the Adirondacks—one of the Nation's most pristine natural resources.

Claiming that an emergency exists, state agencies under control of Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to pump the aquatic pesticide ProcellaCOR into Lake George in an attempt to stop the spread of Eurasian milfoil, an invasive underwater plant not native to the Americas.

The Adirondack Park Commission granted the Lake George Park Commission's application to apply ProcellaCOR on Thursday. The grant authorizes the Commission to dump the poison into two bays in the lake where the invasive weed fills the water every summer. 

“The APA board’s decision was based on the best available science and guided by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s stringent pesticide regulations and approved registrants,” the agency said in a statement after the meeting.

“It would be absolutely negligent if we sat back and watched everyone else use a new, effective and safe management tool," Dave Wick, executive director of the Lake George Park Commission, said after the APA meeting.

But to people who live on the lake, the decision is a risky "experiment" tantamount to Government gambling with their lives. 

That's because the lake is so pristine they draw their drinking water directly from it, without treating it. They drink, cook and wash with it. They also use it to water their gardens. 

“The Queen of American Lakes has been free of intentionally-introduced chemicals for 12,000 years,” Leigh Youngblood, interim executive director of a Lake George residents' group, the Lake George Association, told the Adirondack Park Agency's board. “We will persist in our mission to protect Lake George.”

A coalition of landowners and environmental groups including the Association sued the state immediately after the agency greenlit the use of ProcellaCOR. They blasted the plan for allegedly violating the State Constitution's new Green Amendment that guarantees New Yorkers "clean water, clean air and a healthful environment."

Their lawsuit also alleges the law requires the agencies to hold a full public hearing on the plan that the agency did not hold.

Sarah Reynolds, an attorney for the Adirondack Park Agency, recently explained that it found a way to avoid public hearings because of the "trauma" it allegedly causes the agency. The government attorney whined public hearings are “essentially trials,” and claimed they are distorted by "misinformation."

But even former Republican Gov. George E. Pataki opened fire on the poison plan and urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to "weigh in."

"This would be a disastrous decision that can never be reversed," the former three-term governor wrote in an op-ed published by the Albany Times Union on Thursday. 

"This iconic body of water," Pataki added, "celebrated by Thomas Jefferson himself for its unparalleled beauty, is a unique natural and economic treasure that demands our utmost care and stewardship."

The Adirondack Council, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Citizens Campaign for the Environment and more groups in a joint letter called on the park agency to pause issuing ProcellaCOR permits because of new evidence it contains PFAS "forever chemicals."

Before ProcellaCOR can be legally applied, the State Department of Environmental Conservation must also issue permits. It is expected to do so in days. The APA order requires the herbicide to be used between May 15 and June 30, so that it can kill baby milfoil plants before they mature—giving them 9 days to get the job done.

The APA also approved ProcellaCOR permits for two other Adirondack lakes on Thursday as well.

Gov. Hochul’s press office did not respond to an invitation to comment by press time.

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