Alaska Railroad Applies for New Permits for Herbicide Spraying

The Alaska Railroad has applied for permits to spray a glyphosate herbicide on three sections of track, roughly between Clear and Fairbanks, Talkeetna and Broad Pass, and Palmer and Wasilla. In 2006, the Alaska Railroad applied for a permit to apply herbicide along the entire railroad corridor, but public opposition stalled that effort. See DCC’s comments on that application. This past summer, the railroad successfully obtained a permit for a much more limited project spraying railyards in Healy, Anchorage, and Fairbanks. Now the corporation is following up with a much more extensive project.

View the public notices (which include dates for public comment and public hearings) for the three projects at the State of Alaska, Department of of Environmental Conservation website.