BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 11, 2024
Arthur and Amelia Bond, who own a home at 1 Metcalf Road, have already paid more than $200,000 in fines and other fees in connection with their unauthorized use of the herbicide, tebuthiuron, on trees belonging to them and a neighbor in 2021. They’ve entered legal settlements with the state, the town and their neighbor, and contaminated soil has already been removed from the two private residences. But since the Bonds live so close to Laite Memorial Beach & Park, town officials also hired an engineering firm to test in December whether the herbicide had spread into its soil and groundwater. The results showed trace amounts of tebuthiuron were present in the park. “It was very deliberate and malicious,” said Town Manager Audra Caler. The Maine Board of Pesticides Control is doing its own testing at the Camden beach. Under previous agreements, the Bonds are expected to pay for all state and local remediation efforts.