Wayland Select Board approves emergency pesticide spraying at fields amid EEE risk

WAYLAND -- September 9, 2019, Wayland Select Board clears emergency pesticide spraying at fields and playground after EEE risk hits "high." The board voted 5-0 Monday to issue a single-use waiver under the Children and Families Protection Act, authorizing truck spraying of all public roads from dusk to 11:30 p.m. Wednesday and overnight backpack perimeter treatment at Alpine Field, the Cochituate Ball Field, Hannah Williams Playground, Riverview Field and the town building grounds. Town Administrator Louise Miller said the state escalated Wayland's risk Friday after a confirmed human case in Sudbury, prompting a 6 p.m.-to-8 a.m. outdoor-activity ban. The School Committee voted 4-0 in parallel to suspend its integrated pest management policy through Sept. 30. The board also accepted a $15,000 reimbursement gift from the Dudley Pond Association, 25 percent of the town's $60,000 milfoil treatment cost, with about $12,000 earmarked for tapegrass harvesting.