By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – The city stands to collect more than $50,000 in damages from a major chemical manufacturer after the company found a weed killer it produced damaged more than 30 city trees.
At their Monday meeting, councilors approved a motion for City Administrator Todd Drysdale and Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Natalie Rankine to submit a claim to DuPont for $57,947.50 for 34 Honey Locust trees damaged by the herbicide Imprelis, which was pulled from the market in August 2011 after it was found to cause damages to some species of evergreen trees.
The settlement will replace the trees, at the future site of City Hall, 3200 Biddle, and pay for removal and replacement of one affected tree, and tree care for the remaining trees as well as $7,597.50 in compensation, according to an Aug. 15 letter from DuPont to the city.
Imprelis contains aminocyclopyrachlor, which, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is classified as a “low risk pesticide,” meaning it poses low risks for humans and animals.