Town Adds Pesticide Use Disclosure to Municipal Website

Eight months after parks officials voted in support of the move as part of a larger recommendation, the town on Tuesday added a section to the municipal website disclosing its use of pesticides on several athletic fields.

Though state law prohibits the use of pesticides on school grounds through grade 8, New Canaan uses the chemicals in treating athletic grounds at Waveny, Conner Field and baseball fields at Mead Park. 

Selectman Kathleen Corbet last summer questioned why pesticides are still applied to some public fields used by young kids, and in September developed a set of recommendations for the town. Her findings included that “not very many people know about the use of pesticides in our Town,” and she said in her report that “[a]t a minimum, unless a pesticide free policy is adopted for all athletic fields, public disclosure about the use of pesticides on the natural grass athletic fields is recommended.”

During this week’s regular Board of Selectmen meeting, Corbet noted that a draft disclosure still hadn’t been posted to the town’s website.

“Did we forget to do that?” Corbet asked during the meeting, held via videoconference.

Public Works Director Tiger Mann responded that the town did not forget.

“We will have it posted shortly,” he said.

Published on the Parks section under the Department of Public Works, the disclosure reads:  

“The Parks Department has always tried to achieve the best playing conditions with the resources available for the residents of New Canaan. The Parks Department uses Integrated Pest Management (IPM) which is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. The overall goal of IPM is to minimize the impact on humans and the environment. Our fertilizer program is mainly carbon based (organic) and is adjusted yearly with input from a turf advisor and independent soil testing. On the following fields we typically apply 1 application of pesticides in late June: Conner Field; Mead Park Baseball fields; Waveny Park Athletic Fields. This application is performed by state licensed applicators and posting requirements about the application are posted on site per State Statue.”

Corbet asked during the meeting whether the pesticide application and seeding had been done yet this season. Parks Superintendent John Howe said yes, that it had been June 29.

Referring to the disclosure, Corbet said, “Just as reminder that that should be posted prior to the application of pesticides, as notification.”

Mann responded, “Well the notification is on the field, per state statute.”

He added, “We had a little bit of trouble scheduling, so I didn’t want to have it up too early. But we will make sure we do it better next time.”

Not all of Corbet’s recommendations found support from Parks & Rec. For example, she said in the September report, “Once further study and review of pesticide usage is engaged, consider public hearings, surveys, or other means by which community input is garnered. In the last 12 years, new health studies, legislation, alternative products and applications have been developed and it is appropriate for the [t]own bodies and our community to be well-informed about the risks, benefits and limitations of pesticides and organic alternatives.” 

Citing the relative hardness of grass fields treated with pesticides versus those that are not, the Commission during a meeting in December concluded that it’s healthier for athletes to keep using the chemicals on athletic fields where it’s legal to do so. The Commission relied on reports from a consultant and three-person “Fields Committee” composed of Howe, New Canaan High School Athletic Director Jay Egan and Recreation Director Steve Benko.

It’s unclear whether Parks & Rec, the consultant or “Fields Committee” limited their reviews to field conditions or whether they also included the health impacts of pesticide use. 

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, pesticides can pose risks to people—such as problems with the nervous, hormone or endocrine systems, and some pesticides may be carcinogens—though generally “people are likely to be exposed to only very small amounts of a pesticides, too small to pose a risk.”

The use of pesticides has made news recently. The head of the New Canaan Land Trust when asked about the organization’s popular “Firefly Sanctuary,” now in its peak season, noted that one reason the insects are found in such great numbers on the preserve is because pesticides are not used. This week, the New Canaan Garden Club issued a press release regarding the goats at Irwin Park, which were introduced three years ago to halt the spread of an invasive plant. “Typically, chemical herbicides, which are cheaper and faster, are sprayed for weed control,” the Club said in the release. “In an area that welcomes people of all ages as well as dogs of all sizes, the Garden Club wanted to keep Irwin Park a safe and healthy environment by avoiding the use of chemical herbicides. A chemical-free park also equals a pollinator friendly park, serving as a haven for butterflies and honeybees.”

The selectmen discussion on Tuesday came as the Board voted 3-0 to approve a total of $377,856.20 in contracts and purchasing agreements with 28 different vendors on a wide variety of parks-related work, including catch basin treatments, Canada geese control, irrigation repairs and fertilizer, seed and pesticide applications. The single-largest expenditure, for $136,460.20, was Tom Irwin Inc for “products includes fertilizer, seed and pesticides” while another, $3,000 for Tom Irwin Advisors, was listed as “re-evaluate Saxe and Conner fields.” 

It’s unclear whether they’re the same company. 

Tom Irwin Advisors was the consultant hired last fall to produce the $3,000 “Core Performance Quality Standards Assessment” cited by Parks & Rec, to evaluate and compare the two playing fields—one that gets the pesticides (Conner) and one that doesn’t (Saxe). (In New Canaan, high school fields are pesticide-free.)

Corbet asked about the evaluation, noting that it is to be done every two years and was just last fall. 

Howe said, “We are doing it again but it will really be in 2022. We will do it next spring, which will give us the two years and then we will still have part of the growing season so that you can make any adjustments from there.”