CT officials seek to weed out misinformation about chemical used to treat hydrilla

An attempt Friday to combat misinformation circulating online about a chemical going into the Connecticut River ended in a shouting match between state officials and members of the public.

“You are yelling and you will not get answers from people when you're yelling at them,” Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, said.

The confrontation played out in Deep River, near the banks of the Connecticut River, where an herbicide called diquat is being used to combat and kill the invasive plant hydrilla.

The resilient and fast-growing weed forms thick mats, which can suffocate fish and wildlife by lowering the water’s oxygen level and raising temperatures. Hydrilla has rapidly spread in recent years, making it hard for boats to access the river.

“Hydrilla is evil, ugly. It's a monster, an invasive species that threatens to literally suffocate other wildlife and economic and recreational activity in the Connecticut River,” U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said.

The tiny stems of the plant can attach to boats and spread quickly.

“You may not even be able to see them,” said Mason Trumble, a deputy commissioner at Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

There is no effective way of removing the hydrilla manually, state officials said.

The use of diquat in Connecticut and other states has led to misinformation on social media about the chemical’s potential side effects on wildlife and humans.

“Understandably, the use of any chemical in our environment causes concern,” Rep. Renee LaMark Muir, a Democrat representing Deep River and Essex, said. “But I want to tell you, this project is not a covert, unregulated spraying of diquat. It's a publicly-reviewed, evidence-based, EPA-approved program issued with permits overseen by DEEP and supported by rigorous research.”

Diquat will be injected directly into the water with a hose and applied only in areas where hydrilla is growing, according to Greg Bugbee, a scientist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experimentation Station.

A representative from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will be applying diquat, was not present at the conference, leading to frustration among some residents.

Blumenthal said he would organize a public forum with representatives from the Army Corps and Environmental Protection Agency, but did not confirm a date.

In the meantime, officials encouraged residents to clean, drain and dry their boats before going out onto the water to help prevent hydrilla’s spread.

Áine Pennello is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and climate change for Connecticut Public.