Lawmakers OK Controversial Mosquito Plan

By Jennifer Smith And Rick Brand, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Mar. 21–Despite sometimes stinging criticism voiced at last night’s Suffolk County Legislature meeting, lawmakers voted to adopt a long-term plan for mosquito control that the county says will reduce chemical spraying, but which opponents say could harm marsh ecology.

The bill introduced by Legis. Vivian Viloria-Fisher (D-Setauket) passed by a vote of 13-3, with Minority Leader Daniel Losquadro (R-Shoreham) abstaining.

Also last night, lawmakers, in a unanimous vote, tabled a measure that would require landlords to register with the Department of Probation if they rent to more than one sex offender at a time. Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook) indicated to sponsor Kate Browning (WFP-Shirley) that the bill was “a little loose.”

The mosquito-control plan had stirred considerable controversy, with critics charging that Suffolk disregarded some recommendations made by the county’s environmental advisory group, the Council on Environmental Quality. The bill was introduced by Legis. Vivian Viloria-Fisher (D-Setauket), a CEQ member who disagreed with some of those recommendations.

The plan would scale back the use of pesticides to kill adult mosquitoes, and to cut use of chemicals to kill the insects in their larval stage by 75 percent over 12 years. It would also set up a committee to devise a management plan for Suffolk’s 17,000 acres of wetlands.

With some qualifications, Viloria-Fisher’s resolution also allows for open-water marsh management, which involves altering wetlands to create ponds for fish that feed on mosquito larvae. About 4,000 acres could be candidates for this approach, which the county says both restores degraded wetlands and reduces mosquito populations.

Critics say that some such actions can actually harm marsh health. In a recommendation earlier this year, the CEQ said most of those marsh management practices remained unproven.

Before the sex offender measure was tabled, Browning predicted she would have the votes for passage. “Our intent is to make sure that landlords, who are running all the way to the bank with a smile on their faces, are held accountable and know what kind of people they are housing,” she said.

But Lindsay had said a vote at last night’s session was “iffy” because aides to County Executive Steve Levy had raised the specter of a veto along with last-minute concerns about the bill’s legality, its cost and how it will work.

Browning’s proposal would require landlords to register with the probation department and pay a fee of $500 every two years. It also would require that landlords attend training programs.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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