[PCA] NEWS: Pesticide Lawsuit

[Olivia Kwong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
New Center press release posted at:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/pesticides-01-28-2009.html


For Immediate Release, January 28, 2010

Contact: Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 499-9185

Lawsuit Initiated to Protect Hundreds of Endangered Species From Pesticide
Impacts

San Francisco­ The Center for Biological Diversity today filed notice of
intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to
adequately evaluate and regulate nearly 400 pesticides harmful to hundreds
of endangered species throughout the nation, which also threaten human
health. The EPA has violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to
consult with wildlife regulatory agencies about the impacts of pesticides
on hundreds of protected species that are threatened by pesticide use. The
agency has also violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by registering
pesticides that are known to kill and harm migratory birds.

“It’s time for the Environmental Protection Agency to finally reform
pesticide use to protect both wildlife and people,” said Jeff Miller, a
conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Many
endangered species most affected by toxic pesticides are already struggling
to cope with habitat loss and rapid climate changes. For too long this
agency’s oversight has been abysmal, allowing the pesticide industry to
unleash a virtual plague of toxic chemicals into our environment.”

More than a billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the United
States, and the Environmental Protection Agency has registered more than
18,000 different pesticides for use. Extensive scientific studies have
shown that pesticide contamination is widespread and pervasive in
groundwater, drinking water, and aquatic habitat for fish and wildlife
throughout the country. Through pesticide drift and runoff, pesticides
often travel far from the areas where they’re applied and into sensitive
wildlife habitats. Some contaminated waterways are regularly subjected to
toxic pulses of combinations of pesticides deadly to fish. Pesticides have
played a major role in the collapse of many native fish populations and are
a leading cause of the loss of native amphibians.

Today’s notice letter references 887 endangered and threatened species that
may be hurt by pesticides Some examples include the Florida panther, coho
salmon, California condor, Everglade snail kite, northern Aplomado falcon,
mountain yellow-legged frog, California tiger salamander, arroyo toad,
Indiana bat, and green sturgeon. Thousands of non-target animals such as
mountain lions, bobcats, hawks, and owls are killed or harmed each year by
poisoned baits approved by the EPA, as are endangered species such as the
San Joaquin kit fox, Utah prairie dog, giant kangaroo rat, and black-footed
ferret. Application of pesticides such as carbofuran to crops can result in
as many as 17 bird kills for every five acres treated.

“Millions of pounds of toxic and poisonous chemicals, including known
carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, find their way into our waterways
each year, causing significant and unnecessary threats to endangered
wildlife and to human health,” said Miller. “The Environmental Protection
Agency needs to analyze the effects of pesticides across the board on
hundreds of imperiled species.”

Numerous pesticides act as endocrine disruptors, chemicals that alter the
structure or function of the body’s endocrine system, which uses hormones
to regulate growth, metabolism, and tissue function. Endocrine disruptors
interfere with natural hormone functions, damaging reproductive function
and offspring, and cause developmental, neurological, and immune problems
in wildlife and humans. Pesticides have caused sexual deformities such as
intersex fish (with male and female reproductive parts) that cannot
reproduce, and the herbicide atrazine chemically castrates male frogs at
extremely low concentrations.

In 2004 the Center published Silent Spring Revisited: Pesticide Use and
Endangered Species, detailing the Environmental Protection Agency’s dismal
record in protecting endangered species from pesticides. The Center’s
Pesticides Reduction Campaign has so far forced the Environmental
Protection Agency to begin evaluating the harmful effects of scores of
pesticides on a dozen endangered species in California.

Regulatory Background

The EPA is required by the Endangered Species Act to consult with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service over
registration, re-registration, and approved uses of pesticides that may
endanger listed species or adversely affect their designated critical
habitat. Formal consultations are designed to ensure that the agency avoids
authorizing pesticide uses that jeopardize endangered species. For decades
the agency has consistently failed to evaluate or adequately regulate
pesticides it registers that are harmful to the species.

A series of lawsuits by the Center and other conservation groups have
forced consultations with the Fish and Wildlife Service on the impacts of
scores of pesticides on some endangered species, primarily in California,
and interim restrictions on use of these pesticides in and adjacent to
endangered species habitats. In 2006 the EPA agreed to interim restrictions
on applying 66 pesticides throughout California and began analyzing their
effects on the California red-legged frog. In 2010 the agency proposed a
settlement agreement to formally evaluate the harmful effects of 75
pesticides that may affect 11 imperiled San Francisco Bay Area species.

At the completion of consultation, the federal wildlife agency issues a
biological opinion that determines if the agency action is likely to
jeopardize listed species. The opinion may specify reasonable and prudent
alternatives that will avoid jeopardy and may also suggest modifications to
avoid adverse effects. The EPA has failed to implement previous biological
opinions on pesticides to meet “no jeopardy” obligations.

The EPA has violated Section 2 of the Endangered Species Act, which
requires that federal agencies “seek to conserve endangered species and
threatened species,” and Section 7 of the Act, which requires it to engage
in consultation with the federal wildlife agencies Fish and Wildlife
Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure that pesticide
registrations are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any
endangered or threatened species or result in the adverse modification of
designated critical habitat. The agency has failed to enter into
consultation regarding the vast majority of pesticides and to re-consult on
species and pesticides previously addressed in consultations for which
there is new information. It has also violated Section 9 of the Act through
registration of pesticide uses that have resulted in the illegal “take” of
listed species. The agency is violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by
registering pesticide uses that cause take of migratory birds.

Maps of U.S.endangered species habitat affected by pesticides and
herbicides:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/maps/US_map.html


The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation
organization with more than 255,000 members and online activists dedicated
to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

***************************************

Jeff Miller

Conservation Advocate

Center for Biological Diversity

351 California Street, Suite 600

San Francisco, CA 94104

Phone: (415) 436-9682 x303

Fax: (415) 436-9683

Web site: www.biologicaldiversity.org



At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of
human beings is deeply linked to nature ­ to the existence in our world of
a vast diversity of wild plants and animals.  Because diversity has
intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to
secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of
extinction. We do so through science, law, and creative media, with a focus
on protecting the lands, waters, and climate that species need to survive.
We want those who come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still
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