A Warren County judge recently sided with the Lake George Association and others challenging the Lake George Park Commission’s plan to treat invasive watermilfoil with one of the few EPA-approved aquatic herbicides on the market; the judge granted a preliminary injunction that bars the park commission from using the herbicide until a lawsuit brought by the lake association can be resolved.
The judge agreed with the association’s lawyer who argued the herbicide plan could be delayed without impacting the current state of the lake, but if the commission was allowed to carry out its plan, any outcome of the lawsuit would be meaningless.
At its April meeting, the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) approved a permit for the Lake George Park
Commission to apply the herbicide ProcellaCOR in two plots, approximately four acres in size, in Lake George to treat Eurasian watermilfoil.
The chemical was approved for use by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2018. Environmental groups opposed the Commission’s permit request due to the lack of known long-term environmental impacts the chemical could have on Adirondack waters and ecosystems. Four APA board members voted against the permit, citing both ecological concerns and local government opposition; six members voted in support.