On May 28th, 2009, approximately 125 members and other area residents showed up for the annual meeting of Carroll Electric Cooperative Corporation (CECC)at corporate headquarters in Berryville, Arkansas, at 10 am in the morning. We came to the meeting with the hope of speaking before the CECC board, management, and our member neighbors regarding our concerns surrounding herbicide spraying of utility Right of ways.

Electric utilities throughout the Ozarks are presently using a combination of herbicides to kill the native plants, trees, and shrubs that grow beneath the power lines throughout our region. Thousands of miles of Right of Ways (ROW’s) are being sprayed, causing harm to a wide range of species. Chemical residues from herbicides wash into area creeks, ponds, springs, wells, and groundwater.