Government Asks Court to Dismiss California Pesticide ESA Consultation Case

The Center for Biological Diversity has sued the Fish and Wildlife Service in a San Francisco United States District Court. CBD alleges that FWS has violated the Endangered Species Act and other federal statutes by failing to complete timely consultation on EPA’s pesticide registrations for atrazine, 2,4-D and alachlor.

On May 15, 2015, the Government filed a motion that asks the court to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaint

Federal Defendants Dispute Enviros’ ESA Consultation Claims in San Francisco Court Case

The Center for Biological Diversity has sued the Fish and Wildlife Service in a San Francisco United States District Court. CBD alleges that FWS has violated the Endangered Species Act and other federal statutes by failing to complete timely consultation on EPA’s pesticide registrations for atrazine, 2,4-D and alachlor.

The Enviro Plaintiffs and the Federal Defendants have met and submitted a report on this case, as required by Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Their joint Report to the Court includes the following statements:

Enviros and FWS Agree to Mediation of Pesticide ESA Consultation Litigation

The Center for Biological Diversity has sued the Fish and Wildlife Service in a San Francisco United States District Court. CBD alleges that FWS has violated the Endangered Species Act and other federal statutes by failing to complete timely consultation on EPA’s pesticide registrations for atrazine, 2,4-D and alachlor.

CBD and FWS have agreed to mediation of this claim. The court’s mediation order is available here.

CropLife America has moved to intervene in this case. CropLife’s motion to intervene is available here.

SFIREG Meeting

The Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO)/ State, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG), Full Committee will hold a 2- day meeting, beginning on June 1, 2015, and ending June 2, 2015. This notice announces the location and times for the meeting and sets forth the tentative agenda topics. DATES: The meeting will be held on Monday, June 1, 2015, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, June 2, 2015.

Tentative agenda topics are:

1. OPP/OECA Program Updates

2. Update on SmartLabel and the EEnterprise project

CRE Comments at Inter-Agency ESA Pesticides Workshop

On April 15, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Marine Fisheries Service jointly conducted a workshop on “Assessing Risks to Endangered and Threatened Species from Pesticides – 4th Interagency Workshop on Joint Interim Approaches to NAS [National Academy of Sciences] Recommendations.”
The Government website on this workshop is available here . According to this website:

“The workshop is an opportunity for stakeholders and agencies to continue their dialogue on the technical aspects of further developing interim scientific methods that were issued in November 2013.”

Center for Regulatory Effectiveness representatives made the following comments at this workshop.

SAP Reports on Integrated Endocrine Bioactivity and Exposure-Based Prioritization and Screening

EPA’s Science Advisory Panel was charged with advising EPA on the following three topic areas associated with integrating bioactivity and exposure: 1) estrogen bioactivity, 2) androgen bioactivity, and 3) Integrated Bioactivity Exposure Ranking (IBER). The SAP has published its report on this review. The report contains the following summary:

EPA Extends Deadline for PPDC Nominations

The deadline for submitting a nomination to serve on the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee has been extended for 30 days from the original deadline of March 16, 2015 to April 16, 2015. Nominations must be received
on or before April 16, 2015.

Click here to read Federal Register notice of this deadline extension.

NAS Publishes Its Report on California’s Risk-Assessment Process for Pesticides

The Committee to Review California’s Risk-Assessment Process for Pesticides Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Division on Earth and Life Studies; National Research Council, has published its report Review of California’s Risk-Assessment Process for Pesticides.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) conducts human health risk assessments as part of its mission to ensure the protection of workers and public health in the state. The risk assessments identify potential health hazards posed by pesticides, characterize dose-response relationships, and estimate exposure to characterize potential risks to humans. Over the last decade, advances in methods of scientific and technical analysis have led to improvements in the risk-assessment process that have made them more rigorous, transparent, and useful to risk managers. In light of the advances, the California legislature asked DPR to arrange an independent peer review of the agency’s risk-assessment practices to ensure that they are scientifically and technically credible.

EPA Publishes Pesticide Registration Review Schedule

These documents provide updated information about EPA’s schedule for opening dockets to begin pesticide registration reviews through 2017. The documents are arranged by the following categories:

  • Three-Year summary Schedule;
  • Conventional Cases Schedule;
  • Antimicrobial Cases Schedule;
  • Biochemical Cases Schedule; and
  • Microbial Cases Schedule.

Click here to access these documents.

EPA’s New Analytical Procedures Website

EPA has published a new web site devoted to the Agency’s Analytical Methods and Procedures for Pesticides. This site describes EPA’s prescribed analytical procedures for pesticides. It also provides an overview of EPA’s pesticide laboratories, and it discusses EPA’s National Pesticide Standards Repository.

EPA’s new site is available by clicking here.