Alaska Railroad maintains need for herbicides in battle to control weeds

The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) reiterates that an integrated approach is essential to effective vegetation management, including the use of the herbicide glyphosate. According to the railroad, this is an issue of safety. Both the Alaska Railroad and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) require adequate vegetation control to: 1) allow inspectors to see the track to ensure its integrity; and 2) to minimize the risk of trip-slip-fall accidents for railroad crews who must walk along the track. From 1983 to 2009, the ARRC used manual (labor with hand-held tools) and mechanical (heavy track maintenance equipment) means alone, which caused them to fall behind in the weed control battle. Last year, the Alaska Railroad was able to use glyphosate along 25 miles of track between Seward and Indian, thanks to a limited herbicide use permit. In April 2009, a strong warning from the FRA had spurred ARRC to again apply for a permit. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation conducted a comprehensive permit process involving extended public comment and hearing. The ADEC is uniquely qualified to sift through opinions and facts to make a sound decision regarding safe and effective vegetation management. ARRC funded independent, third-party research to answer questions regarding safety of herbicides. The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Alaska University Transportation Center (AUTC) recently provided local data for the ADEC to use in evaluating the safety and migration of the chemical. Details about the study are available at www.AlaskaRailroad.com. The selected herbicide is AquaMaster, a glyphosate-based herbicide that is EPA-approved for use in and around water, similar to commonly used Roundup. Even so, the ADEC permit specifically calls for an ample buffer around all surface water bodies. To recap the permit process and resulting actions: Environmental groups challenged the permit issued to Alaska Railroad in April 2010 by requesting a stay be issued by the ADEC Commissioner. The stay was rejected and ARRC applied glyphospate under permit in July 2010. An administrative law judge (ALJ) rejected several of the environmental groups' arguments regarding procedural and constitutional issues during appeal process between late 2010 into early 2011. The issues of health and safety were slated for a hearing in April 2011. In late-April 2011, the ADEC Commissioner approved the ALJ's recommended decision and issued the final administrative decision upholding the permit. An appeal from environmental groups seeks to overturn the decision on procedural and constitutional grounds. "The Alaska Railroad must control vegetation for safe rail operations," said Alaska Railroad Chief Engineer Tom Brooks. "Herbicides are another tool in our tool box, along with mechanical and hand cutting, to effectively accomplish sufficient control."