[Pollinator] Neonicotinoid bill held up by busy agenda

[David Inouye]

    POLLINATORS


  Neonicotinoid bill held up by busy agenda

Marc Heller <https://www.eenews.net/staff/Marc_Heller>, E&E News reporter

Published: Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Female brown-belted bumble bee collecting pollen from purple prairie 
clover. Photo credit: Tom Koerner/USFW

Studies have linked neonicotinoids to harms in bee colonies. A House 
bill would limit their use until EPA finds they won't adversely affect 
pollinators. Tom Koerner/Fish and Wildlife Service

Rep. Earl Blumenauer said today he's looking for a lull in the 
congressional agenda before pressing legislation to limit the use of 
certain pesticides that may harm bees.

"Part of it is just wait for things to calm down a little bit," the 
Oregon Democrat told E&E News, describing the outlook for his bill, H.R. 
1337 <https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr1337/BILLS-116hr1337ih.pdf>, 
the "Saving America's Pollinators Act."

Blumenauer's bill would require EPA to cancel the registration of 
neonicotinoid pesticides until the agency finds the chemicals won't 
cause adverse effects to pollinators. It would require EPA to create a 
Pollinator Protection Board, which would review pesticides potentially 
harmful to bees and butterflies.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) at an event on neonicotinoids. Photo 
credit: @foe_us/Twitter

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) speaking today at an event on 
neonicotinoids. @foe_us/Twitter

EPA allows the use of eight neonicotinoids, including imidacloprid and 
clothianidin, on various crops. The chemicals were introduced in the 
1990s and have become popular, including as seed treatments, because 
they're absorbed throughout the plant and are less toxic to vertebrate 
animals than other pesticides.

But they tend to persist in soil — sometimes for years — and they're 
prone to escape planted fields, critics said yesterday at a panel 
discussion on Capitol Hill.

Neonicotinoids' potential role in bee declines is hotly debated. While 
most lab studies have found they can be harmful to honeybees, most field 
studies have found limited or no effects, according to the Cornell 
University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

They're the most widely used pesticides in the world and the most 
studied insecticides for effects on bees, according to Cornell's 
Pollinator Network.

Neonicotinoids are also used on national wildlife refuges; the Center 
for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity have sued the 
Trump administration to stop the practice.

Blumenauer's bill has 69 co-sponsors, all Democrats. He said at the 
panel discussion that the legislation ought to have bipartisan support 
and is a "half step" toward ending use of neonicotinoids — depending on 
the proposed EPA panel's conclusions. House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern 
(D-Mass.) is the chief co-sponsor, giving the bill an influential ally.

The packed congressional schedule, including the impeachment inquiry, 
may need to ease before the pollinator bill can move.

"I think when people are ready to move, this would be a little thing 
that might fill that gap," Blumenauer said.

Email: mheller at eenews.net <mailto:mheller at eenews.net>


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