7/27/2019 Florence Fields Herbicide Assessment 8-19-2013

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To: Mayor David J. Narkewicz

From: Wayne Feiden, Director of Planning and Development AnnMario Moggio, Director of Recreation

RE: Florence Fields

Date: August 19, 2013

This memo is in response to your inquiry about the possible application of the herbicide Roundup at Florence Fields. Florence Fields, like most of the citys lands, is managed for long term sustainability. This includes promoting healthy lifestyles while minimizing erosion and sedimentation, energy, water, and resource use, and the release of toxic chemicals.

Northampton, of course, needs to balance its resources and make sure that we are providing our tax payers with the biggest return on their tax dollars. The city, formally or informally, generally uses a lifecycle approach, to consider both long and short term costs of an approach so that we are considering all of the costs of any given decision. Hopefully, investments in reducing the use of toxics are made in areas where such reduction has the greatest effect on human and environmental health.

Herbicides of any kind can pose toxic risks and need to be considered carefully and minimized. A single application of Roundup to Florence Fields one year before the field is being used poses no significant risk to human or environmental health. Any investment in replacing this application would go far further in other areas. It is our understanding that the contractor will be applying Roundup, but the decision is up to them absent a contract change, since the contractor is responsible for their construction methods.

Total Environmental Footprint Sustainability requires us to consider the entire environmental footprint and not just focus on any one aspect. The city, using state grants and CPA funds, is making significant sustainability investments at Florence Fields to minimize our entire environmental footprint: 1. The recreation area will promote the health of the community by encouraging exercise. 2. Sidewalks will extend connect to existing sidewalks on Spring Street and Meadow Street to

maximize the pedestrian and bicycle mode share. 3. The site will use solar photovoltaic panels to ensure it uses net zero energy. 4. The site has a drilled well, so that all irrigation needs are met on site and not use city treated water. 5. The city added 5,000 cubic yards of compost/organic material to the soil to augment soil fertility

and support a rich turf, which is the most effective way to minimize the need for future chemicals.

6. DPWs management practice is that herbicide treatment in irrigated fields (like Florence Fields) is limited to pre emergent crab grass control and no insecticide is used in playing fields.

7. DPW will meet in September to explore organic turf management at Florence Fields and quantify the financial costs and operational tradeoffs.

8. We are making site improvements onsite (drainage system) and off site (rehabilitation of the Mill River buffer) maximize the physical, chemical and biological capture and treatment of runoff, including organic and inorganic fertilizers and herbicides.

7/27/2019 Florence Fields Herbicide Assessment 8-19-2013

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Risk Assessments and Alternative Investments Risk assessments are critical to allow the best use of resources. For example, portions of the Grow Food Northampton (GFN) farmland adjacent to Florence Fields contains trace amounts of DDT and higher concentrations of Dieldrin and Arsenic, all of which are toxic and highly persistent (lasting as they move through the food chain). Concentrations of the latter two would require reporting to the Department of Environmental Protection if these had not been applied in accordance with the labels. All three of those herbicides are more toxic and persistent than Roundup (Glyphosate) or any other herbicides that the city could use. GFNs own risk assessment presumably found has identified the proper crops planting plan to avoid crops for human consumption taking up toxics.

The City is attempting to reduce all exposure to toxics. Because of this commitment we have leveraged many millions of dollars of state, federal, and private funds to assess, cleanup, and to avoid community exposure. Part of this work, however, is doing risk assessments so that we use these funds wisely and are focused on what really causes environmental or human health risks.

Based on available research, a single Roundup application on this site, in accordance with the label, in 2013 will break down by the time the fields are open to recreation. Roundup applied in non windy

conditions will not migrate towards any of the other farmland in the area.

Roundup and other herbicides are currently applied to road edges, railroad tracks, parking lots, the flood control dikes, sidewalks, building edges, dams, agricultural fields, and other sites all over the city by public and private applicators. If the city was in a position to fund reduction in herbicide application, by other city forces or other property owners, we would want to prioritize the most sensitive receptors, e.g., sites closer to the water, to protect human and environmental health. There are other sites where an investment in reduction of herbicides or other environmental improvements would provide a better return for environmental and human health than a single application of Roundup at Florence Fields.

Construction and Management of Florence Fields

The City

met

with

and

discussed

options

for

developing

and

managing

Florence

Fields

with

Grow

Food

Northampton a year ago, after GFN purchased the property abutting Florence Fields. The city worked with our designers (Berkshire Design Group) and, with the assistance of Grow Food Northampton, the University of Massachusetts Turf Management Program. In that process, and following the advice of UMass, the city determined that the best way to minimize the need for future chemicals is to add to the organic content of the soil during the construction phase by incorporating approximately 5,000 yards of composted soil to the native soil. This both minimizes the need for future fertilizing and creates a turf that is thick enough to protect itself from weeds. This approach was shared with GFN at our joint September 12, 2012 conference call with the UMass Turf Program and as a follow up to that call.

In the future, the city will fertilize as necessary with a single annual granular or liquid pre emergent herbicide to avoid wind drift. DPW is currently exploring costs and operational issues to determine if these applications will be organic or inorganic.

Our contractor is responsible for creating healthy turf fields, but methods (e.g., mechanically, organically, or inorganically removing weeds) are up to the contractor.

Conclusion We recommend that the city not intervene with the contractors ability to select the method of getting to a healthy turf field. We will, of course, instruct the contractor and Berkshire Design to follow all label requirements and not apply during windy conditions.