Carbon County officials are finalizing requirements for the upcoming 2016 Gypsy Moth Suppression Program.

Last week, the board of commissioners voted 2-0 to approve the local government acknowledgment/approval of Helicopter Applicators Inc. of Gettysburg for aerial spraying operations as required by the Federal Aviation Administration. Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein was absent.Last year, gypsy moths made a comeback, and the little insects brought their big appetites, munching on trees and shrubs and eating their way through the county and state. Carbon County was the only county in the state to take part in the suppression program through the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry, Division of Forest Pest Management.After the season ended, Carbon County opted to again participate in the program and will spray 1,582 acres throughout the county sometime between late April and early June at a cost of $54 per acre, which is set by the state.The treatment will include bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, formally known as Bt insecticide, being sprayed by aircraft over the infested forests.Of the property sprayed, 1,077 acres will be located around Mauch Chunk Lake Park at a cost to the county of $58,158. The remaining $27,270 will be split among private residents who qualified to be part of the spraying. These properties had to have a minimum of 250 gypsy moth egg masses per acre and contain certain types of trees.The commissioners said Thursday that no time frame for the spraying has been announced by the state at this time.