By Douglas Main
A federal judge ruled late Wednesday that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) must finish assessing the impact of five pesticides on endangered and threatened species, and that the agency had violated federal law with its “unreasonable” delay in completing the required analyses.
The five chemicals include the weed killers atrazine and simazine, and the insecticides chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and carbaryl.
The ruling ought to force the Trump administration to “protect imperiled wildlife from harms caused by pesticides,” said Jonathan Evans, environmental health legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which brought the suit.
“We’re glad the court found the federal government still has to follow the law,” including the Endangered Species Act (ESA), to protect imperiled wildlife, Evans said.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed initial evaluations for all the chemicals, finding that they present serious risks to threatened and endangered species. For example, the EPA concluded that chlorpyrifos is “likely to adversely affect” 1,778 threatened or endangered plants and animals, a whopping 97% of all protected wildlife.
The EPA likewise reported that diazinon is likely to harm 78% of these species; carbaryl, 91%; and atrazine and simazine, 56% and 55%, respectively.
Judge orders wildlife service to do more to protect imperiled species from pesticides
By Douglas Main
A federal judge ruled late Wednesday that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) must finish assessing the impact of five pesticides on endangered and threatened species, and that the agency had violated federal law with its “unreasonable” delay in completing the required analyses.
The five chemicals include the weed killers atrazine and simazine, and the insecticides chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and carbaryl.
The ruling ought to force the Trump administration to “protect imperiled wildlife from harms caused by pesticides,” said Jonathan Evans, environmental health legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which brought the suit.
“We’re glad the court found the federal government still has to follow the law,” including the Endangered Species Act (ESA), to protect imperiled wildlife, Evans said.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed initial evaluations for all the chemicals, finding that they present serious risks to threatened and endangered species. For example, the EPA concluded that chlorpyrifos is “likely to adversely affect” 1,778 threatened or endangered plants and animals, a whopping 97% of all protected wildlife.
The EPA likewise reported that diazinon is likely to harm 78% of these species; carbaryl, 91%; and atrazine and simazine, 56% and 55%, respectively.