To spray or not to spray? That is a question — but certainly not the only one — residents of unincorporated San Mateo County have been doggedly asking Caltrans, which has decided to spray herbicides along 12-plus miles of Highway 84 west of Skyline Boulevard this month. Another equally important question is: Are Caltrans decision-makers showing respect for and good faith toward residents who oppose chemical weed-control and were assured by the agency that they would be given advance notice of future spraying?
In spite of the promise to notify, it appears that Caltrans has sprayed the area at least twice — two months ago and in January 2014 — without alerting residents, and many residents are justifiably upset. Some of them have been fighting the practice since at least 2006, including Patty Mayall, who lives near La Honda and was a key advocate of the ban on roadside herbicide spraying passed by the Board of Supervisors in 2012. “They’re not giving anybody any choice of their public exposure to a toxic chemical,” Ms. Mayall told the Almanac last month.
The county ban applies to its own public works department, not to Caltrans, and the state agency warned residents after the supervisors’ action three years ago that it would continue the practice under certain circumstances, including in matters of roadway safety and potential fire danger. Why Caltrans is not following through on its commitment to let residents know beforehand is baffling, and unacceptable. Advance notice allows residents to post “No spray” signs on their own property, to keep their pets indoors, and to avoid walking or bicycling along a roadway where toxic fumes may be lingering. As Ms. Mayall said last year after finding out about the unnoticed spraying, “… how can people opt out from having their property sprayed when they don’t know the spraying is taking place?”
The question of whether spraying herbicide, rather than mowing, is the only effective method of controlling weeds along rural roadsides is an important one that should be pursued, but meanwhile, Caltrans should be clear about why it continues the practice in this county when it finds alternative strategies in other counties that have banned spraying.
When they passed the spraying ban in 2012, the supervisors agreed with residents pushing for it that the chemicals put people, wildlife and the watershed at risk. In addition to living up to its commitment to notify residents if it continues to spray, Caltrans should also explain why the perceived need to use toxic chemicals in the public space should outweigh public health concerns.
