The public utility NSTAR/Eversource continues to spray a mixture of herbicides on approximately 150 miles of transmission line rights-of-way without the knowledge or consent of the owners as part of its Yearly Operational Plan. The rights-of-way include private residential properties, private wells, municipal lands, wildlife habitat for endangered species, walking/biking paths as well as 78% of zones of contribution to public water supplies.

Cape Cod’s unique environment of sandy soil along with its sole-source aquifer demand the use of non-toxic methods to prevent pollution of our water supply. Non-chemical means of vegetation control, using mechanical cutting and hand-mowing, were used for decades.

NSTAR quietly began spraying herbicides between 2004 and 2007. Residents became aware of this practice when NSTAR filed a new Vegetation Management Plan in 2008. After months of public outcry, NSTAR agreed to a one year moratorium on spraying until the end of 2010.

Continued protest from residents, businesses, physicians, and resolutions in opposition from all 15 Cape Cod towns has led to another one-year moratorium, announced in March of this year 2011. Our goal is to keep the pressure on NSTAR/Eversource to permanently discard the use of chemicals on Cape Cod by petitioning the CEO Tom May to agree to abandon this poison plan for Cape Cod..