HYANNIS – Eversource wrapped up its yearly treatment of weeds and brush under power lines in eight Cape Cod towns last week.
Treatment was completed in Harwich, Chatham, Bourne, Sandwich, Dennis, Yarmouth, and Falmouth.
However Eversource was not able to get to all Barnstable County towns before the fall window closed as trees were too stripped of their leaves to continue vegetation management in the five remaining towns of Eastham, Truro, Wellfleet, Mashpee, and Orleans.
“Operationally we were not able to get to those remaining towns,” said Eversource Spokesman Reid Lamberty.
“We will get to them over them over the next couple of years and make sure that we apply the herbicides to the trees and vegetation that we deem necessary.”
The energy company manages the brush and weeds to prevent disruption in the power supply.
To do so, the company must first lay out its treatment method in a yearly operational plan that requires approval from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
“Our integrative vegetation management program is used by companies and communities across the state and across the country, it proves time and time again to be most effective in promoting long term sustainability of the natural habitat,” said Lamberty.
“Our IVM program is approved by MDAR and is subject to very strict oversight and unannounced inspections.”
They then proceed to use a combination of mowing, pruning, and herbicide application to control the growth of the vegetation around power lines.
Not used this year was Glyphosate, a principal ingredient in the herbicides such as Rodeo which has historically been used to clear the vegetation on Cape Cod.
“This year we did not use (Glyphosate) at all and that is because it just wasn’t necessary to use for the plants that we were trying to control,” said Lamberty.
Eversource made the decision to use other herbicides such as Krenite S, Escort XP, and Powerline, because they were more effective for the foliage being targeted and not because of push-back over the compound from environmentalists and officials in the area.
The vegetation management and the use of herbicides was overseen by an inspector for the state Department of Agricultural Resources, said Lamberty.
For more information regarding the vegetation management, visit Eversource.com
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