On July 21, 2011, Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reaffirmed her earlier decision limiting relief in Defenders of Wildlife, et al., v. Lisa P. Jackson to a “narrowly applied, tailored” injunctive measure to restrict use of the rodenticide chlorophacinone, but only in the states most affected by EPA’s violations of the ESA.

Ruling from the Bench, the judge said that if the parties do not reach a tentative agreement on a workable proposed order for her to sign by July 27, she could partially vacate EPA’s registration of the substance.  This would eliminate the pesticide’s registration in at least four of the 10 states it is currently used to control western prairie dog populations.

Last month, the judge held that EPA’s initiation of an ESA consultation on the impact of a pesticide registration does not prevent lawsuits seeking to force the agency to complete the consultations,.  The judge also ruled that because EPA had not completed a consultation before registering the chemical, its registration should be revoked.  The judge delayed implementing the remedy because it is widely used.

The court’s written opinion is attached below.

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