White Pass asks to spray herbicides along Yukon rail line

The White Pass and Yukon Route (WPYR) railwayis seeking approval to use herbicides to clearvegetation alongits tracksbetween Whitehorse and the B.C. border, something environmentalists say shouldn't be necessary.

The WPYR is asking Yukon's environment department for permission to use herbicidespray this summerto clear weeds and scrub away, and kill roots that could make the tracks dangerously unstable.

A 21-day period for public comment ahead of the proposed work began this week,under theYukon Environment Act.

Mark Taylor, the company's superintendent of rail operations, saysthey looked into alternatives toherbicides such as hot steambut determinedtheywould not be effective.

"One of the issues is, it doesn't get as deep and take it down to kill the roots," he said.

Taylor says roots eventuallycanweaken the road bed and make track inspections difficult.He says it can be very dangerous to passengers and crew.

White Pass alsoapplied to use herbicides in 2014, but laterwithdrew the application saying it became aware of non-herbicide methods that mightdo the job.

But the company said thosemethods which involved mechanically removingbrush andvegetation proved too expensive and time-consuming.

3 herbicides proposed for use

JenniferDagg, Environment Yukon'smanager of standards and approvals, says thethree herbicides the railway wants to use have beenapproved by Health Canada for removing brush and weeds.

Two of the herbicides proposed in the application are considered harmless to aquatic life, she says,but one of themVantage XRT hasa chemical ingredient called glyphosate, whichis known to harm aquatic life. She says the manufacturerrecommends itnot be sprayed within 15 metres ofany body of water.

WPYRsaysit won't spray the herbicide nearlakes or otherbodies of water that run close tothe tracks such as Lake Bennett.

The companysays it will follow the herbicide manufacturer's recommendations, andisproposing to mechanically removevegetation in those areas near water.

YCS disappointed with proposal

The Yukon Conservation Society (YCS) is disappointed with the proposal to use any herbicides, and instead wants the WPYRto use only mechanical methods.

"This railway has been around for over a hundred years," saidSebastian Jones of YCS."They didn't have these types of chemicals when they first built this railway, so they had todeal with vegetation in different ways."

YCS says it will raise its concerns about the herbicides through the review process.

If approved, the railway could begin spraying herbicides in early July.

WPYRwill put up notices of the proposed activity and signed copies of its application at Log Cabin, and inCarcrossand Whitehorse.