Scott Co. chemical spray potentially puts kids, foliage at risk

Yahoo

01-03-2025

The Brief
Neighbors in St. Lawrence Township watched hundreds of trees and bushes die after witnessing a chemical sprayed onto their property in August 2024.
Afterward, they discovered the township's weed control plan included spraying chemicals onto their property, though they say they were never notified. Some of the chemicals used are toxic to humans and animals.
Damages to trees and bushes are estimated at $560,000, and neighbors are worried about health impacts on their children and pets.
SCOTT CO., Minn. (FOX 9) - Hundreds of trees and bushes have died in a Scott County neighborhood where the local government had chemicals sprayed to clear the right-of-way.
Dangerous direction
Neighbors in St. Lawrence Township are fighting to find out why they were sprayed with the chemicals, and whether their animals and children are in danger.
Pete Giancola gets pretty upset driving through his rural Scott County neighborhood.
Last summer, he and a few neighbors realized the St. Lawrence Township weed control strategy included spreading potentially dangerous chemicals onto their properties.
"All of those orange marks are all of the dead trees that absorbed the chemicals," Giancola said as he drove past dozens of orange marks. "One of my favorite dogs died, like, literally overnight."
No control
The township wanted to address weeds in the right-of-way, hiring a chemical company in the process.
But dead flora and fauna indicate they sprayed all the way past the right-of-way into Pete Giancola's property, where it killed this tree and dozens more.
The spraying caught Lana Plashchynskaya by surprise just down the block from Giancarlo, and she tried to stop it.
"I had five horses out there within mere feet from where the chemical was landing," she said.
Downplaying damage
The video she recorded shows a worker who stopped and pulled away, but then he had a conversation with Township Chair Ted Kornder and got right back to it as Kornder downplayed the dangers.
"It does not totally kill your tree," he told Plashchynskaya. "It keeps the branches from encroaching out into the road."
But almost immediately, trees and bushes started dying on properties belonging to Plashchynskaya, Giancola and John Slavic.
"All the wild grapes are dead," said John Slavic. "The sumac trees that I planted are dead."
Chemical concerns
All three neighbors maintain their own right-of-way, mowing it and keeping shrubs away.
Despite that, they found out the township has been spraying twice a year for quite some time, but they say they've never been notified.
They spent months trying to get answers about what chemicals were used – Vastlan, Nu Farm Polaris, Dupont Export, and Terravue – and when they found out, they were shocked to read about the risks.
"It can cause crystallization of lung tissue and respiratory distress," Giancola said of one of the chemicals. "And now they're coming on to our properties with toxic herbicides without notification."
Health impacts
Giancola suspects the chemicals killed his dog, Crosby, and he's worried about the impact on his daughter, Kaylee, who is in a coma.
Plashchynskaya talked to us on Friday while her daughter was hospitalized with respiratory problems.
"It just blows my mind that this has been happening behind my back," Slavic said.
An arborist estimated the damage at more than $500,000, but the neighbors may need to sue to get any restitution.
FOX 9 gave city leaders and the company that sprayed the chemicals a couple of days to respond to the accusations, but they have not returned messages or emails.