Gas and Diesel Leaf Blowers in East Hampton Town
We, the members of the Board of the Accabonac Protection Committee, support the East Hampton Energy Sustainability Committee’s recently proposed changes to the Town Code minimizing the use of gas and diesel leaf blowers in the Town. We urge the Town Board to incorporate these changes in the Town Code. We urge you to call/email the Town Board Members to indicate your support of the proposed changes.
What prompts our support of the changes to the Code? Currently, the extremely noisy and unhealthy gasoline blowers can be used from 7AM until 8:30 PM everyday of the year in East Hampton Town. In addition to noise, which can cause hearing damage in the ears of the operator and people up to 50 feet away, the Sustainability Committee reports the additional harmful effects of such equipment on the operator, the public, and the environment. The emissions from gas and diesel blowers include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation maintains that the amount of carbon monoxide emitted from a backpack leaf blower in one hour is equal to that emitted from the tailpipe of an automobile operating for more than eight hours. The American Lung Association reports that even short-term exposure to ozone pollution can lead to cardiac issues, pulmonary disease, and death.
The committee recommends a ban on gas and diesel-powered leaf blowers, not the much quieter and pollution free electric models, from May 20 through Sept. 20. From Sept. 21 through May 19, gasoline and diesel bowers could be used between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Use would be prohibited on Sundays and federal and state holidays. The very noisy walk-behind leaf blowers would be prohibited unless the property being cleaned is greater than one-half acre, and no more than two handheld, backpack, or walk-behind leaf blowers could be used at one time except on a property greater than one-half acre. For major storm cleanup, when the supervisor declares a state of emergency, gasoline and diesel blowers could be used inasmuch as they are more powerful than the currently available electric models.
There seems to be a rise in complaints about the noise of the gas blowers as more people stay at home and children attend virtual school during the pandemic. Even before Covid, the proposed restrictions are similar to those adopted earlier by the Village of Southampton, which took effect this year. The Village of East Hampton adopted restrictions on gas and diesel-powered leaf blowers, also taking effect this year, and Sag Harbor Village and the Town of North Hempstead have adopted restrictions as well.
The Energy Sustainability Committee anticipates the development of more powerful electric blowers which would be more quiet and pollution free. It is reported that landscapers have indicated that cost is the biggest deterrent to transitioning to electric equipment. One Committee member explained that with electric, “You’re buying your fuel upfront. It’s offset by no fuel costs, no maintenance.” Councilwoman Sylvia Overby has said that legislation would likely allow landscapers a reasonable time frame to transition to electric equipment. At the Board meeting regarding the Committee’s recommendation, Supervisor Van Scoyac , referencing the theme of “perfect lawns’ stated that “If your lawn is so clean and filled with chemicals that you don’t see any insects, that means you’re poisoning your groundwater” and damaging the environment. “Some people in town have worked very hard to present a different approach to landscaping that’s environmentally sound and still beautiful.”
Once again, we urge you to support the proposed changes to the Town Code by emailing/calling Board members. Use this link for the the Board’s contact information:
http://ehamptonny.gov/385/Town-Board
Yours truly,
Patrice Dalton, President
