Panel: Linda Michaluk, Hugh Hodgkinson, Dr. Anthony Larsen
The appellants appealed pesticide use permits issued to Macmillan Bloedel to apply Vision pesticide to TFL 39, Block 1. The appellant Association maintained that the drift from the spray could devastate the mariculture industry. The Keas grounds were that the herbicide application will cause undue harm to man and the environment.
The Board upheld the permit finding that there would be no adverse effects on the environment. However the Board found that the permit had been reviewed by a pesticide committee yet the recommendations from the Fisheries Branch had been omitted. The Board commented that the permit should not have been issued without these recommendations. The Board also expressed concern that there had been no study on the effects of the herbicide on oysters. It thus amended the permit to include a pesticide-free zone around all water bodies. The Board also amended the permit to include monitoring of spray drift due to the unknown effects of the herbicide on oysters.
