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Pressured by lawsuits, EPA toughens pesticide rules to protect endangered species
https://www.science.org/content/article/pressured-lawsuits-epa-toughens-pesticide-rules-protect-endangered-speciesPressured by lawsuits, EPA toughens pesticide rules to protect endangered species
U.S. agency is drawing up new rules for farmers, but some worry the science isn’t ready
31 OCT 2023•5:00 PM ET•BYERIK STOKSTAD
Driven by tight court deadlines, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is radically remaking its approach to regulating pesticides, giving weight to their risk to endangered species. The effort is still in the early stages, but concrete enough that it has alarmed agricultural organizations, which fear widespread restrictions on where and how farmers can spray the chemicals. “It can potentially add really tremendous cost,” says James Cranney, head of the California Citrus Quality Council.
Before approving pesticides for use, EPA evaluates the risk they pose to human health and the environment. As part of those analyses, the agency is legally required to consider potential impacts on endangered species. But for decades it has rarely completed the reviews, which require consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and often drag out for more than 4 years.
In a draft plan that was open for comment until earlier this month, the agency proposed to speed up the process by making its own internal assessment of risk to endangered species. EPA will continue to consult with FWS and NMFS, as the law requires. But it won’t wait for the other agencies to finish weighing in before requiring farmers to change their practices. To add efficiency, the agency will also conduct analyses looking at the risks pesticides pose to groups of organisms.
Environmental groups hope the new regulatory approach will strengthen protections for species such as the rusty patched bumble bee, which used to occur widely over the north-central and eastern United States but for reasons including pesticide use, is now scattered across just a few states. “We’re thrilled that EPA is diving into this,” says Aimée Code, who heads the pesticide program at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
[...]
U.S. agency is drawing up new rules for farmers, but some worry the science isn’t ready
31 OCT 2023•5:00 PM ET•BYERIK STOKSTAD
Driven by tight court deadlines, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is radically remaking its approach to regulating pesticides, giving weight to their risk to endangered species. The effort is still in the early stages, but concrete enough that it has alarmed agricultural organizations, which fear widespread restrictions on where and how farmers can spray the chemicals. “It can potentially add really tremendous cost,” says James Cranney, head of the California Citrus Quality Council.
Before approving pesticides for use, EPA evaluates the risk they pose to human health and the environment. As part of those analyses, the agency is legally required to consider potential impacts on endangered species. But for decades it has rarely completed the reviews, which require consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and often drag out for more than 4 years.
In a draft plan that was open for comment until earlier this month, the agency proposed to speed up the process by making its own internal assessment of risk to endangered species. EPA will continue to consult with FWS and NMFS, as the law requires. But it won’t wait for the other agencies to finish weighing in before requiring farmers to change their practices. To add efficiency, the agency will also conduct analyses looking at the risks pesticides pose to groups of organisms.
Environmental groups hope the new regulatory approach will strengthen protections for species such as the rusty patched bumble bee, which used to occur widely over the north-central and eastern United States but for reasons including pesticide use, is now scattered across just a few states. “We’re thrilled that EPA is diving into this,” says Aimée Code, who heads the pesticide program at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
[...]
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