ALBANY (AP) -- The Adirondack Park Agency has approved using an herbicide for the first time in a lake in the 6 million-acre park.
On recommendation of agency staff, the APA Thursday approved a permit for town officials to treat 11 acres at the southern end of Lake Luzerne in the southern Adirondacks to kill Eurasian watermilfoil. Treatment is planned over a few days in May.
The Adirondack Council environmental group said it should only be a last resort and that the herbicide Triclopyr used elsewhere has killed other plants.
Park agency staff say chemical amounts should drop within two to three weeks below the state restriction for drinkable water. An irrigation ban would remain in effect for at least 120 days, or until concentrations fall below one part per billion.
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