A resolution passed by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) in May 2020 approved charging Lewis County residents $300 and a subsequent $25 yearly maintenance fee to get on the county’s “No Spray List” for vegetation management along the county’s 1,053 miles of roadway.
Daniel Barth, who lives east of Centralia, called the No Spray agreement "a new fee program to have the (Public Works) Department do nothing."
Since residents were mailed notices about the fee in January 2022, The Chronicle has received letters expressing indignation about the cost to avoid chemical sprays to vegetation, saying the herbicides could potentially harm sensitive individuals or conflict with organic farming practices.
Not all No Spray applications are granted, according to Lewis County Public Works Director Josh Metcalf, but the fees are only paid by approved applicants.
The county does have a process for chemical-sensitive individuals to register as such — after registration on the state’s chemical-sensitive persons list, fees would be waived — but only after their sensitivity has been determined by a licensed medical practitioner. Similarly, USDA certified “organic” farms are exempt from brush spray by the county.
Barth said he felt these registration processes are flawed. As a Vietnam veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange, Barth said exposure to herbicides exacerbates his existing health issues. He is registered with Veterans Affairs programs for treatment, but isn’t on Washington’s chemical-sensitive individuals list, and expressed disdain at the idea of providing his medical status to the county.
In a letter to the BOCC that was provided to The Chronicle, Barth said: "Suffice to say county spraying of herbicides is not appreciated. Is making me pay money to the county to protect my health really a way to say: 'Thank you for your service?’"
As for the requirement of being USDA certified organic, Barth said it was discriminatory given that there are several distinct organic registrations and the resolution only covers one. Also, Barth said some people just enjoy organic farming recreationally. That sentiment was also expressed by a non-commercial farmer in Galvin via email to a reporter this week.
Metcalf said there was a misconception among some residents that the herbicides are “broadcasted” in a fog across properties, instead calling it “very targeted.”
Residents need substantial justification to be added to the No Spray list, and he said simple dislike of herbicides didn’t meet that criteria.
"One can farm organically for one's personal use and consumption and not have to be a commercial business. Why penalize county residents who want to eat healthy?" Barth asked.
Barth’s letter, among others, has drawn the attention of the BOCC. He complimented Lewis County Commissioner Lee Grose for understanding his position and promising to try to get the fees rescinded.
“When I first found out about it I thought, ‘How in the heck did we ever pass that?’” Grose said.
But Metcalf said he still stands by the original No Spray application program system he drafted and presented to the BOCC in 2020. The county is required by the state to manage roadside vegetation for the purpose of preventing visual obstructions for drivers and for proper drainage, which increases a road’s longevity.
The spraying of herbicides allows the county to cut back on the cost of equipment for mowing, he said.
“Our spray program, along with our mowing program, allows us to manage roadside vegetation to the best of our ability without additional cost to the taxpayers,” Metcalf said.
The No Spray areas are a deviation from the standard work process, he said, and added the fees were “purely based on cost” recovery.
Per the resolution, the $300 fee covers the cost of the erection of “No Spray” signs on the property of No Spray list registrants. Metcalf also said vegetation management staff have to record each sprayed area and report data to the state every year, and that No Spray areas add time and cost to that process.
For landowners along two or more county roads, two additional No Spray signs per county road adjacent to their property must be purchased at a cost of $100 per sign. So, residents whose properties are bordered by two county roads would have to pay an initial $500 to avoid vegetation management sprays.
After installation of the signs, the resolution states they become the responsibility of the property owner. This also bothered Barth, who was frustrated by the idea that if a county snow plow ran over his sign, he’d still have to pay $100 to replace it.
No current county commissioners were in office during the resolution’s passing in 2020.
“I feel very strongly about it. I've been working to get public works to rescind that (fee) and it will be rescinded,” Grose said.
The District 3 commissioner added he’s working to get the BOCC on the topic within the “next couple weeks.”
