Toxic Free NC - Get Involved

Despite our efforts, the Bush Administration has weakened the Endangered Species Act to let the EPA to register new pesticides without consulting other agencies on the chemicals' potential to harm endangered species. Thank you all for calling and emailing your representatives, and keep up the good work!

July 30, 2004: U.S. Eases Review of Pesticides for Endangered Species: The EPA will no longer have to consult with agencies on the potential harm of products. Environmentalists say it will weaken the law. (Story in the LA Times, reposted on Forests.org) "The Bush administration made it easier Thursday for the government to approve pesticides used by farmers and homeowners, saying it no longer would require the Environmental Protection Agency to first consult other federal agencies to determine whether a product could harm endangered species. (...)" >>full story

Protect Endangered Species from Pesticides
(Excerpted from Toxic Free NC Action Alert, April 2004)

The US EPA and Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), at the request of the Bush Administration, have proposed to scrap the inter-agency review process that was designed to protect endangered species and their critical habitats from pesticide contamination. Under the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies like US EPA are required to consult with wildlife experts to be sure that their decisions do not threaten endangered species. Instead, new proposed rules would allow EPA to assess pesticide threats to endangered species without ever consulting the agencies that are charged with protecting them.

The Endangered Species Act, which became law in 1973, requires the government to ensure that its pesticide use regulations don't threaten the survival of endangered plants, animals or fish.

To that end, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to consult with two wildlife agencies, the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) and the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), on new pesticide registrations before they can take effect.

EPA officials admit that the required inter-agency consultations haven't been occurring for a long time, so rather than step up protections, they propose removing the requirement. See the proposed rule changes on EPA's site.

Cutting federal wildlife agencies out of the loop would entrust EPA with the responsibility of policing itself on pesticide regulatory decisions that affect endangered species. Environment and wildlife advocates are deeply concerned. EPA has a track record of failure in adopting protections from pesticides for salmon, bald eagles, sea turtles, and other endangered species around the country. EPA is regularly advised by the "FIFRA Endangered Species Task Force," a group comprised of pesticide and chemical industry representatives. Because there is no public access to the task force's meetings with EPA, a coalition of environmental groups has filed suit against EPA for illegally giving these chemical manufacturing interests "special access" to lobby during pesticide regulatory decisions that affect endangered species.

Summer 2004 News Coverage of this Issue, archived by BiologicalDiversity.org

January 28, 2004: New Bush Regulations Ease Restrictions on Pesticide Use, Threaten Wildlife; EPA Will No Longer Required to Consult Agencies About the Effects of New Pesticide Use on Wildlife and Habitat
(Press release from Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides) "The Bush administration will issue regulations Friday to cut wildlife agencies out of the loop on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decisions regarding pesticide use, a move that threatens endangered species and their habitat. (...)" >>full release

January, 2004: Pesticide Threats to Endangered Species: Case Studies
(Factsheet from the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides and partners) "Pesticides threaten the survival of endangered species across the U.S., with species at risk ranging from sea turtles in Chesapeake Bay to salmon in the Pacific Northwest. (...)" Includes case studies of current pesticide threats to endangered sea turtles, salmon, amphibians, and birds. >>full factsheet (PDF)

Jan 18, 2004: Pesticide-makers power questioned: A suit contends makers have too big a role in shaping EPA policy relating to endangered species (Story in The Oregonian) "Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's ties to a group of pesticide manufacturers. The Eugene-based Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides and others bringing the lawsuit contend the industry task force is acting as an illegal advisory panel. They say the task force is helping to shape policy on endangered species in violation of federal laws that call for such panels to hold public meetings and maintain a balanced membership. (...)" >>full story (pdf, 24 KB)

Jan 15, 2004: EPA Sued For Illegally Taking Direction from Chemical Industry Group; Industry group cutting wildlife experts out of inner circle deciding pesticide policy
(Press Release from Earthjustice) "Conservation and pesticide-watchdog groups today filed a lawsuit to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from giving illegal special access to a group of chemical corporations. Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and other sources reveal that the corporate insider group has met regularly with EPA officials in secret and has urged EPA to weaken endangered species protections from pesticides. (...)" >>full release

Dec/Jan, 2004: Poisoning the Imperiled; Three decades after DDT was banned, pesticides still take a toll on the nation's most vulnerable species.
(Story in National Wildlife Magazine, from the National Wildlife Federation) "(...) today, three decades after the [Endangered Species Act] was passed, pesticides remain a threat to the recovery of the nation's endangered plants and animals. (...) EPA, the agency charged with assessing pesticide hazards, has no estimate of how many of more than 700 pesticides it has registered pose a hazard to more than 1,260 species listed as threatened or endangered. By its own admission, the agency has not even tackled a backlog of pesticides that initial studies red-flagged as potentially harmful; these chemicals remain in use pending further evaluation. (...)" >>full story