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Herbicide treatment, as part of Arrowhead Electric’s five year “Integrated Vegetative Management (IVM) Plan” is now underway on sections of the Gunflint Trail. Lake States Tree Service of Grand Rapids is contracted to do the work. They have recently mailed postcard notices to private landowners having Arrowhead Electric powerline Right-Of-Way (ROW) easements through their property. Don’t mistakenly discard this notice as junk mail. If you receive a notice from Lake States, your property is likely scheduled for herbicide treatment. Should you wish to optout, you will have five days to respond, otherwise your property will receive herbicide treatment by default. Arrowhead Electric requires that you request and submit a signed “Right of Way Maintenance Fee Agreement” to opt-out, allowing Arrowhead Electric to add monthly surcharges to your electric billing statement for a period of five years. Neither Arrowhead Electric or Lakes States Tree Service is currently sanctioned to use herbicides on ROWs passing through Forest Service land prior to undergoing an Environmental Impact Study (EIS). If this restriction is applicable to public land, shouldn’t similar constraints be applied to herbicide use imposed on private property owners by Arrowhead Electric? Arrowhead Electric’s “Right of Way Maintenance Fee Agreement” states that a $5.54/month surcharge will be added for each power pole “span” located on your property for a period of five years. A “span” is defined as the distance between two adjoining power poles. Each “span” which occurs on your property will multiply the monthly surcharge accordingly. Arrowhead ‘graciously’ offers the option of paying by the year or for the entire 5-year term total. Every property owner with an Arrowhead Electric transmission line passing through their land is subject to this surcharge…whether you are an Arrowhead customer or NOT!
Approximately 560 miles of Arrowhead Electric ROWs will be cleared by mechanical means and subsequently followed up with herbicide treatment. Hundreds of gallons of agrochemicals will be applied over our ‘arguably pristine’ landscape under direction of the membership owned, supposedly environmentally responsible, electric cooperative’s management team.
As all cooperative members continue to subsidize Arrowhead’s five year “Integrated Vegetative Management Plan” through our current monthly service charge, those who wish to opt-out of herbicide use will pay additional surcharges for their decision to decline treatment.
Bob LaMettry, Grand
Marais
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