WSDA sounding warning about another challenge to crop chemicals
Washington Ag Today March 22, 2010 A notice of intent to sue recently filed by the Center for Biological Diversity could have far more reaching consequences for the use of agricultural crop protection chemicals than the so-called “buffer suit” regarding endangered salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest. That is the warning the Washington State Department of Agriculture is putting out. Bob Gore is the Deputy Director of WSDA. Gore: “The real complication is there has been another lawsuit filed that would include another 394 pesticides and another about 897 threatened or endangered species. So this potential problem and this pending lawsuit would expand the scope of this thing from salmon in the Pacific Northwest to every agricultural producing county in the United States.” The Center for Biological Diversity claims the EPA violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to consult with wildlife regulatory agencies about the impact of pesticides on hundreds of protected species. Gore points out progress has been slow in the consultations in the buffer case. Gore: “It has taken six years to get six pesticides reviewed and there are 31 pending from that same lawsuit right now.” The mitigation in the salmon case is buffers of anywhere from 100 feet to one thousand feet along fish bearing streams. Gore emphasizes the Center for Biological Diversity is talking about more than fish in its intent to sue. It includes animals and plants. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network. ?
