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Gypsy moth environmental documents now available for public review, comment
 

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is accepting public comment on a proposed treatment plan for two sites where state entomologists have found the invasive gypsy moth. State and federal law requires WSDA to issue environmental documents before making a final decision whether to treat sites this spring in the Madison area of Seattle and Rosemont neighborhood in Bellevue.

The documents are completed checklists required by the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and an environmental assessment required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The documents may be reviewed on the Internet at  http://www.agr.wa.gov/plantsinsects/ and click “gypsy moth”; Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104; Bellevue Regional Library, 1111-110th Ave. NE, Bellevue, WA 98009; and other locations. Call the toll-free agency hotline at (800) 443-6684 for the location nearest you and answers to questions on the documents.

The deadline for submitting comments on these documents to WSDA is April 5. 

The documents assess the impact on the two sites of applying Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk), a biological insecticide found naturally in the environment.

Approximate boundaries of the 100-acre Madison site are: on the west, 21st Ave. E.; on the east, Martin Luther King Jr. Way; on the north, E. Republican St.; and on the south, E. Howell St. The 5.5-acre Rosemont site is centered on the intersection of 176th Ave. NE and NE 13th St.

State entomologists have concluded reproducing populations of the gypsy moth are present at both sites. The gypsy moth attacks more than 500 species of trees and shrubs, causing millions of dollars in environmental and economic damage where permanent populations of the pest exist.
For more information on the health effects of Btk and other control methods, see the Web site of Public Health-Seattle & King County at www.metrokc.gov/health/env_hlth/gypsy.htm, or the Web site of the Washington State Department of Health at www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/Pest/egm/health-info-egm-control.htm.

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