Aug. 26 letters to the editor

Use of herbicides along
creek bank all wrong
We respect the job that Mon Power employees do. It’s not easy maintaining a system that’s continually assaulted by the elements.
That being said, we don’t think the use of herbicides on creek banks is in the public’s best interest. We live just 40 feet from Big Indian Creek on Hagans Road. An Asplundh (Mon Power contractor) representative recently asked permission to spray herbicides on our creek bank, saying many of our neighbors had already agreed. We declined. Since we only own one side of the creek, we are now envisioning a view of brown and withered vegetation.
We’ve fed the ducks for over 20 years and have attracted up to 40 mallards and wood ducks that range up and down the creek. It’s alive with small fish, snapping turtles, frogs and water snakes. Great blue heron and kingfishers feed from its waters. Muskrat live in its banks. Will the herbicides affect them? Will they stay?
We wonder just what areas Mon Power is targeting for the spray program. Are they planning to do it along streams that flow through more affluent residential areas?
This is wrong. It’s expedient and cost-effective for the utility. And yes, it may prevent an outage from time to time. But the residents of this road will look at the devastation every single day. A charred, brown scar through an otherwise green landscape. A potential void where fish, wildlife, butterflies and bees once thrived.
And the erosion from floods? We’ve paid thousands to put rock on our bank to stop its progress toward the house. This creek moves with each flood, encroaching on the road, utility poles, water hookups, yards and bridges. The loss of vegetation will only exacerbate the problem.
In the 40 years we’ve lived here, we have no memory of the creek banks being sprayed. We don’t know why Mon Power has elected to use this method in an area that is easily accessible and heavily populated. And, while they’re operating within the law, right and legal don’t always occupy the same space.
Rebecca L. and
Roland D. Hunn
Morgantown