State limits use of herbicide that killed 2,000 trees near Sisters

(Update: FS says ODA rule will allow sale of felled trees for wood products)

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – An herbicide that caused the death of more than 2,000 trees in Central Oregon is facing new regulations despite objections from agrichemical giant Bayer AG.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture said Thursday that it will immediately begin severely restricting the use of herbicides containing the chemical aminocyclopyrachlor, or ACP. Regulators found ACP was the main ingredient in the herbicide Perspective that killed more than 2,000 trees along Highway 20 near Sisters from 2013 to 2015.

This makes Oregon the first state to limit the herbicide on a statewide basis.

Regulations were meant to go into effect in March but were postponed after the chemical company Bayer filed for a delay.

The rule would prohibit using the chemical in wildlife management areas and make permanent current temporary restrictions on use in right-of-ways for roads, highways, railroad tracks, bike paths and more.

—

News release from the Oregon Department of Agriculture:

To prevent “future widespread tree deaths statewide,” the Oregon Department of Agriculture said Thursday it has adopted a rule sharply limiting the use of a weed-killing herbicide that left more than 2,000 Ponderosa and lodgepole trees dead or dying along Highway 20 west of Sisters.

“After careful consideration of data and more than 5,000 written comments and testimony at public hearings,” ODA said “its investigators concluded that applications of aminocyclopyrachlor (ACP) from 2013 to 2015 in Central Oregon killed or damaged the trees, now being removed along a stretch of the highway.

There are currently four known locations near Sisters exhibiting herbicide damage attributed to the use of ACP, the agency said.

The U.S. Forest Service recently began harvesting the trees due to safety concerns. ODA’s permanent rule also prohibits byproducts of ACP-affected trees from being used in compost, mulch or animal bedding that will be used in compost or mulch.

Deschutes National Forest Public Affairs Officer Jean Nelson-Dean said Friday the specifics in the ODA’s rule “will allow us to sell the decked timber under a timber sale contract, which is what we were hoping would happen.”

The agency said the permanent rule was filed with the secretary of state Thursday and is effective immediately.

ACP Rule

Prohibits ACP use on rights of way, natural areas, restoration areas, marshes, swamps, bogs, wetlands and sage-grouse areas unless: applications are noncontiguous and, in the aggregate, do not exceed more than five percent of an acre; use is limited to one application per 365 days; and use is to control state or county listed noxious weeds. Prohibits ACP use on inner and outer banks of ditches and canals. Prohibits ACP use where roots of non-target trees or shrubs may extend. Prohibits all aerial applications of ACP. Prohibits plant materials that have been treated with or exposed to ACP from being used in compost, mulch or animal bedding that is used in compost or mulch. Defines rights of way specific to ACP use. Failure to comply may result in revocation, suspension or refusal to issue or renew a certification or license and/or imposition of a civil penalty. ODA first adopted a temporary rule limiting the use of ACP in September 2018. ODA proposed a permanent rule in January 2019, which was scheduled to be adopted in March.

On March 20, ODA received a request from Bayer Crop Science LP, Environmental Science Division, the registrant for ACP products in Oregon, to postpone adoption of the permanent rule. As required by law, ODA postponed the date of its intended action. ODA also reopened public comment.

During this time, ODA received an additional 118 comments, which it considered when drafting the permanent rule. ODA is working to notify and educate affected parties regarding this new rule.

For more information about the ACP rule, visit the agency online at https://oda.direct/Rulemaking