Highland Vegetation Management of Rothesay has been charged under Section 158 (f) of the Act for allegedly violating the terms or conditions of its approval to conduct spraying operations.

“We investigated the complaints and concerns we received from the public and what we determined is that there was one section in particular that signage wasn’t as what was required in the approval,” Environment Department district manager Brad Skinner said Wednesday. 

“We issued a summary offence ticket against the company and a warning to the actual applicator in charge of the job.”

The maximum fine under the legislation is $682.

Skinner said the charge is related to the spraying program in the Lower Cove area where the department alleges the signage requirements of the permit approval process were not followed.

The company is scheduled to make an appearance in provincial court in Amherst on Nov. 25 at 9:30 a.m., to enter a plea to the charge.

The charge comes after the department received a number of complaints from residents concerned with the spray program and how the chemical, Tordon 101, was being applied to roadsides around the county. Residents claimed the spray killed every plant in its path and made the roadsides look like war zones.

Skinner said the department is not taking issue with the method used to apply the chemical.

“That’s the nature of that kind of equipment. There’s a lot of volume with very coarse droplets. There’s a lot of water to get the coverage on the vegetation. That's the way it’s supposed to be done,” he said.

Cumberland County is believed to be the only area of the province to have a roadside spraying program this year. Skinner’s office still plans to sit down with transportation officials to discuss the need for the program in future years.

Transportation uses the spray as part of its right of way program, with herbicides used in areas that have hazards including electrical power lines, railway beds, roadsides and pipelines.

dcole@amherstdaily.com

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