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In response to a legal appeal against the use of an herbicide on the south end of its network, the Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC) issued a statement last Friday reiterating its stance that an integrated approach is essential to effective vegetation management, including the application of a glyphosate-based herbicide.

Environmental groups Alaska Community on Toxics, Alaska Survival and Cook Inletkeeper recently filed an appeal in an Alaska Superior Court contesting the final decision of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), which last year issued a permit to the railroad to apply a glyphosate-based herbicide in a Seward yard and along 30 miles of track between Seward and Indian. The ADEC last year rejected a stay request by environmental groups that challenged its decision to grant a permit last year, and in April 2011 upheld its permit decision. The current appellate filing seeks to overturn the ADEC’s final decision on procedural and constitutional grounds, and not because of health or safety concerns regarding the herbicide, according to ARRC.
 
From 1983 to 2009, the railroad used manual techniques and mechanical equipment to control vegetation, but it “fell further and further behind in the battle to control weeds during Alaska’s long summer days that promote rapid growth and re-growth,” ARRC officials said in the statement. Earlier attempts to obtain an herbicide permit revealed a gap in information about how herbicides behave in Alaska’s environment, they said.  So, ARRC funded independent third-party research. The study, which included test sites on both ends of ARRC’s network, provided the ADEC local data to evaluate the chemical’s safety and environmental effects.

“The ADEC conducted a comprehensive permit process involving extended public comment and hearing opportunities,” ARRC officials said. “While the issue has generated strong opinions for and against herbicide use, the ADEC is uniquely qualified to sift through opinions and facts to make a sound decision regarding safe and effective vegetation management.”