SVT Responds to "Mosquito Spraying" Bill

Update May 26, 2020: The Joint Committee on Public Health has redrafted the bill, and initial reports indicate that the new version addresses our concerns. 

On April 16, 2020, Governor Charlie Baker filed a bill with the Massachusetts Legislature that covers statewide spraying to reduce the mosquito population. The Governor filed the bill--H.4650 An Act to Mitigate Arbovirus in the Commonwealth--to “empower the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board to engage in mosquito control activities across the Commonwealth, even in areas where there is no legislative authority to take action today, when the Commissioner of Public Health determines that an elevated risk of arbovirus exists.”   

Many conservation groups, including SVT, oppose this measure. 

We are concerned about the broad overreach of this bill. H. 4650 would exempt the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board from all state laws and allow them to conduct mosquito eradication measures anywhere in the Commonwealth, even if municipalities do not want spraying in their towns. The bill will allow the Mosquito Control Board to do this work based on a determination from Department of Public Health that there might be an elevated risk of mosquito borne disease in the next year. Once passed, this bill has no sunset clause.

During the public comment period, which ended on May 11, SVT Executive Director Lisa Vernegaard submitted a letter in opposition, writing "Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT) opposes this legislation as written because it has broad overreach, does not provide for coordination with other agencies, lacks notification to impacted municipalities, and also lacks a sunset provision."

Lisa explained that "It is absolutely essential that prior to use of 'mosquito control activities', the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board should notify municipalities and the public to minimize exposure to these chemicals" and that "Many people grow their own food, with an increasing emphasis on organic methods. Landowners should not be subjected to pesticides sprayed on their homes and gardens without their knowledge or consent."

Read the full text of Lisa's letter.

The bill is now being considered by the Joint Committee on Public Health. We'll keep you informed if it gets voted out of committee and is brought before the full legislature. In the meantime, we encourage you to contact your representatives and share your comments.