Three charged in New York, Vermont with EAB violations

Three business owners in the Hudson Valley and Vermont have been charged with breaking a quarantine on shipment of ash tree timber out of Greene County, which is infested with a voracious Chinese beetle that devours ash trees.

 

The quarantine, imposed last summer after Emerald Ash Borers were found in Greene County, carries possible criminal penalties of up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

 

A quarantine on movement of ash wood out of Greene and Ulster counties was imposed in September by DEC to stem the spread of ash borers into adjoining counties. Eighteen counties in New York where ash borers have been found are under the quarantine.

 

These are the first charges in the state to be filed for breaking the ban.

 

Charged for allegedly cutting ash trees off Game Farm Road, in Catskill, Greene County, as well as two other locations in the county, and shipping the logs to Rensselaer and Columbia counties, were: Jeff Meltz, vice president of Meltz Lumber Company in Hudson; Forest Mayer, president of Forest Mayer Log & Timber Co. in Bennington, Vt.; and Paul Kelly from Paul Kelly Trucking in Catskill.

 

The alleged violations happened at least eight times during February, March and April, when quarantined wood was shipped to Rensselaer and Columbia counties, according to DEC. The investigation was prompted by a tipster, according to DEC spokesman Rick Georgeson.

 

There is no evidence any of the timber was infested or that borers were spread into the two counties, said Mike Moran, a spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture and Markets.The three men, who are cooperating with investigators, according to Moran, are scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 18 in Catskill Town Court.

 

The ash borer has destroyed tens of millions of trees since appearing outside of Detroit in 2002.