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Government Rule Cutting Wildlife Experts out of Pesticide Reviews Illegal, Says Coalition of Conservation and Fishing Groups

Rule Change Undermines Environmental Safeguards in the Name of 'Streamlining'

The government's recent decision to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to determine whether a pesticide harms endangered species without consulting with federal wildlife agencies weakens protection for those species and endangers the health of farm workers and the public.

The government's recent decision to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to determine whether a pesticide harms endangered species without consulting with federal wildlife agencies weakens protection for those species and endangers the health of farm workers and the public, according to a lawsuit filed today by a coalition of conservation and fishing groups. The lawsuit was filed today in federal district court in Seattle.

The new rule, issued in late July, allows EPA to evade its legal obligation to first consult with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) scientists before registering new pesticides or allowing continued use of pesticides that may harm plants and animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. By eliminating the checks and balances built into the Endangered Species Act through formal agency consultation, the new rule makes it easier for agribusiness and other industries to use highly toxic pesticides.

Scientists, conservationists, and members of Congress oppose the rule change, which the administration formulated with the help of the pesticide industry. The government agencies changed the rule in response to a successful lawsuit brought by conservationists and fishermen against the EPA for failing to consult with NMFS scientists on the impact of pesticides on Pacific Northwest salmon.

"When the court found that the EPA was not playing by the rules, the EPA simply changed the rules," said Patti Goldman, an attorney with Earthjustice, which is representing the coalition. "The EPA is failing to protect endangered species from poisons."

The EPA has flouted its obligation to consult with federal wildlife experts for years. The result, according to David Wright, a conservation biologist formerly with the FWS, has been faulty science and unsound analysis. "Up to now, EPA's track record in addressing the effects of pesticides on endangered species has been abysmal. After all its previous neglect and flawed decisions, handing endangered species protection over to EPA stinks of conflict of interest."

The government maintains that the rule change will allow it to "streamline" the pesticide assessment process. Conservationists say that "streamlining" is a code word for gutting protections for vulnerable plants and animals. "This policy is more about undermining the Endangered Species Act than it is about government streamlining," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president at Defenders of Wildlife and former FWS director. "This decision lets EPA off the hook instead of requiring it to do its job. Now more potentially dangerous chemicals can be pumped into the environment without proper review."

Pesticides pose a serious threat to wildlife. Government data show that pesticides already jeopardize more than 375 endangered or threatened species across the country, according to "Silent Spring Revisited," a report released in July by the Center for Biological Diversity. "The last thing America's most imperiled species need is a rule change that could make their prospects for survival worse," said John Kostyack, senior counsel for the National Wildlife Federation.

See the Earthjustice website for more information.

Contact:

Patti Goldman
Earthjustice
206-343-7340 ext. 32

David Wright
Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientist
916-739-8906

Jeff Miller
Center for Biological Diversity
510-499-9185

Mike Senatore
Defenders of Wildlife
202-682-9400 ext. 123

David Dilworth
Helping our Peninsula's Environment
831-624-6500

John Kostyack
National Wildlife Federation
202-797-6879

Aaron Colangelo
Natural Resources Defense Council
202-689-6868

Aimee Code
Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
541-344-5044 ext. 27

Glen Spain
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations/Institute for Fisheries Resources
541-689-2000

Gregg Small
Washington Toxics Coalition
206-632-1545 ext. 113

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