Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Mark Frost, Chronicle Editor
The Lake George Association issued a seemingly bombshell press release Tuesday about the herbicide applied in two bays in 2024 to combat Eurasian mifoil.
It said, “Procella-COR has been approved and promoted for its rapid degradation in the environment. But, our team’s novel, long-term, field-based sediment study found that the herbicide and its breakdown products persisted in lakebed sediments for more than a year. To our knowledge, this environmental persistence of ProcellaCOR has never been documented before.”
The LGA said, “These new scientific findings raise new questions about long-term ecological risks of ProcellaCOR use, the potential impacts of repeated chemical herbicide applications and whether sediment behavior has been underestimated in prior regulatory and scientific assessments. We do believe that these new scientific findings and considerations should be weighed in future ProcellaCOR decisions around the state.”
The LGA did acknowledge, “Let us be clear that our data points to ecological uncertainties and does not point to any known risks regarding Lake George drinking water or recreation.”
The LGA fiercely fought the Lake George Park Commission’s eventual use of ProcellaCOR in June 2024 in Blairs Bay and Sheep Meadow Bay to combat invasive Eurasian watermilfoil, as approved by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Chronicle sought comment Tuesday from the Lake George Park Commission through its Executive Director Dave Wick.
The Chronicle asked, Do you accept the LGA finding that ProcellaCOR and its breakdown products persisted more than a year in lakebed sediments?
The Park Commission replied, “The LGA findings largely align with the EPA product registration which notes that ProcellaCOR can persist at trace levels in anoxic condition in sediment for many months. While this finding is longer than noted in the EPA documents, the minute quantity (parts per billion) identified has absolutely no public health impacts nor identified ecological impacts.”
The Chronicle asked, Does the LGA report alter the state’s view that ProcellaCOR is safe to use in Lake George (and in other New York lakes)?
The Commission replied, “The Lake George Association press release clearly notes that their organization does not dispute that ProcellaCOR has no negative impacts on the public health, safety or welfare of the users of Lake George.
“The current LGA study finding of trace amounts of ProcellaCOR in the treatment areas does not identify any direct impact to the ecology of Lake George.
“ProcellaCOR was studied extensively over years of time by the EPA, the NYS DEC, and dozens of other countries, all of which align in their assessments that this product has no identified ecological impacts.
“The two ProcellaCOR treatments in Lake George, and indeed every Adirondack Park lake treatment, were found to be exceedingly effective at eliminating invasive Eurasian watermilfoil with no resulting negative impacts.”
The LGA press release — in the form of a letter addressed “Dear Lake George Association Community” — added, “We have been meeting with the Lake George Park Commission (LGPC) throughout the summer to keep them updated on our research. We’ve also shared our report with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the Adirondack Park Agency in the spirit of transparency and partnership.
“The LGA will continue its partnership with the LGPC through the effective hand-harvesting program of EWM that has been in place since 1986, a year after EWM was first discovered in Lake George. Since 2009, the LGA has invested nearly $2 million into the program. Lastly, the LGA will continue long-term research on Lake George and other Adirondack Lakes to further study the lasting impacts of ProcellaCOR use.
“We are sharing this news now because we believe our community deserves to know what we are finding, even as our research continues. Our commitment is to let science lead, to remain transparent, and to protect the people, plants and animals that depend on a healthy Lake George.”
“Thank you for your continued support.”
It was signed by Dr. John E. Kelly III, LGA Board Chair; Dr. Brendan Wiltse, LGA Executive Director; and Chris Navitsky, PE, LGA Lake George Waterkeeper.
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