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<font size=2>New Center press release posted at:
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/pesticides-01-28-2009.html">
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/pesticides-01-28-2009.html</a>
<br><br>
For Immediate Release, January 28, 2010<br><br>
Contact: Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (510)
499-9185<br><br>
</font><font size=4><b>Lawsuit Initiated to Protect Hundreds of
Endangered Species From Pesticide Impacts<br><br>
</b></font><font size=2>San Francisco<i> </i>The Center for Biological
Diversity today filed
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/pdfs/Jan_27_2010_ESA_NOI_CBD.pdf">
notice of intent to sue</a> the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for
failing to adequately evaluate and regulate
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/pdfs/394%20pesticides.pdf">
nearly 400</a> pesticides harmful to hundreds of endangered species
throughout the nation, which also threaten human health. The EPA has
violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to consult with wildlife
regulatory agencies about the impacts of pesticides on hundreds of
protected species that are threatened by pesticide use. The agency has
also violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by registering pesticides
that are known to kill and harm migratory birds.<br><br>
“It’s time for the Environmental Protection Agency to finally reform
pesticide use to protect both wildlife and people,” said Jeff Miller, a
conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Many
endangered species most affected by toxic pesticides are already
struggling to cope with habitat loss and rapid climate changes. For too
long this agency’s oversight has been abysmal, allowing the pesticide
industry to unleash a virtual plague of toxic chemicals into our
environment.”<br><br>
More than a billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the United
States, and the Environmental Protection Agency has registered more than
18,000 different pesticides for use. Extensive scientific studies have
shown that pesticide contamination is widespread and pervasive in
groundwater, drinking water, and aquatic habitat for fish and wildlife
throughout the country. Through pesticide drift and runoff, pesticides
often travel far from the areas where they’re applied and into sensitive
wildlife habitats. Some contaminated waterways are regularly subjected to
toxic pulses of combinations of pesticides deadly to fish. Pesticides
have played a major role in the collapse of many native fish populations
and are a leading cause of the loss of native amphibians.<br><br>
Today’s notice letter references
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/pdfs/887%20species.pdf">
887 endangered and threatened species</a> that may be hurt by pesticides
Some examples include the Florida panther, coho salmon, California
condor, Everglade snail kite, northern Aplomado falcon, mountain
yellow-legged frog, California tiger salamander, arroyo toad, Indiana
bat, and green sturgeon. Thousands of non-target animals such as mountain
lions, bobcats, hawks, and owls are killed or harmed each year by
poisoned baits approved by the EPA, as are endangered species such as the
San Joaquin kit fox, Utah prairie dog, giant kangaroo rat, and
black-footed ferret. Application of pesticides such as carbofuran to
crops can result in as many as 17 bird kills for every five acres
treated.<br><br>
“Millions of pounds of toxic and poisonous chemicals, including known
carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, find their way into our waterways
each year, causing significant and unnecessary threats to endangered
wildlife and to human health,” said Miller. “The Environmental Protection
Agency needs to analyze the effects of pesticides across the board on
hundreds of imperiled species.”<br><br>
Numerous pesticides act as endocrine disruptors, chemicals that alter the
structure or function of the body’s endocrine system, which uses hormones
to regulate growth, metabolism, and tissue function. Endocrine disruptors
interfere with natural hormone functions, damaging reproductive function
and offspring, and cause developmental, neurological, and immune problems
in wildlife and humans. Pesticides have caused sexual deformities such as
intersex fish (with male and female reproductive parts) that cannot
reproduce, and the herbicide
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/atrazine-08-27-2009.html">
atrazine</a> chemically castrates male frogs at extremely low
concentrations.<br><br>
In 2004 the Center published
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/publications/papers/Silent_Spring_revisited.pdf">
<i>Silent Spring Revisited: Pesticide Use and Endangered Species</a></i>,
detailing the Environmental Protection Agency’s dismal record in
protecting endangered species from pesticides. The Center’s
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/index.html">
Pesticides Reduction Campaign</a> has so far forced the Environmental
Protection Agency to begin evaluating the harmful effects of scores of
pesticides on a dozen endangered species in California.<br><br>
<b>Regulatory Background<br><br>
</b>The EPA is required by the Endangered Species Act to consult with the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service over
registration, re-registration, and approved uses of pesticides that may
endanger listed species or adversely affect their designated critical
habitat. Formal consultations are designed to ensure that the agency
avoids authorizing pesticide uses that jeopardize endangered species. For
decades the agency has consistently failed to evaluate or adequately
regulate pesticides it registers that are harmful to the
species.<br><br>
A series of lawsuits by the Center and other conservation groups have
forced consultations with the Fish and Wildlife Service on the impacts of
scores of pesticides on some endangered species, primarily in California,
and interim restrictions on use of these pesticides in and adjacent to
endangered species habitats. In 2006 the EPA agreed to interim
restrictions on applying 66 pesticides throughout California and began
analyzing their effects on the California red-legged frog. In 2010 the
agency proposed a settlement agreement to formally evaluate the harmful
effects of 75 pesticides that may affect 11 imperiled San Francisco Bay
Area species.<br><br>
At the completion of consultation, the federal wildlife agency issues a
biological opinion that determines if the agency action is likely to
jeopardize listed species. The opinion may specify reasonable and prudent
alternatives that will avoid jeopardy and may also suggest modifications
to avoid adverse effects. The EPA has failed to implement previous
biological opinions on pesticides to meet “no jeopardy”
obligations.<br><br>
The EPA has violated Section 2 of the Endangered Species Act, which
requires that federal agencies “seek to conserve endangered species and
threatened species,” and Section 7 of the Act, which requires it to
engage in consultation with the federal wildlife agencies Fish and
Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure that
pesticide registrations are not likely to jeopardize the continued
existence of any endangered or threatened species or result in the
adverse modification of designated critical habitat. The agency has
failed to enter into consultation regarding the vast majority of
pesticides and to re-consult on species and pesticides previously
addressed in consultations for which there is new information. It has
also violated Section 9 of the Act through registration of pesticide uses
that have resulted in the illegal “take” of listed species. The agency is
violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by registering pesticide uses
that cause take of migratory birds.<br><br>
Maps of U.S.endangered species habitat affected by pesticides and
herbicides:
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/maps/US_map.html">
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/pesticides_reduction/maps/US_map.html</a>
<br><br>
<i>The <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/index.html">Center for
Biological Diversity</a> is a national, nonprofit conservation
organization with more than 255,000 members and online activists
dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild
places.<br><br>
</i></font><font face="Verdana"><b>
***************************************<br><br>
Jeff Miller<br><br>
Conservation Advocate<br><br>
Center for Biological Diversity<br><br>
351 California Street, Suite 600<br><br>
San Francisco, CA 94104<br><br>
Phone: (415) 436-9682 x303<br><br>
Fax: (415) 436-9683<br><br>
Web site:
<a href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/jmiller/Application%20Data/Microsoft/Signatures/www.biologicaldiversity.org">
www.biologicaldiversity.org</a><br><br>
<br><br>
<i>At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of
human beings is deeply linked to nature to the existence in our world
of a vast diversity of wild plants and animals. Because diversity
has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work
to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the
brink of extinction. We do so through science, law, and creative media,
with a focus on protecting the lands, waters, and climate that species
need to survive. We want those who come after us to inherit a world
where the wild is still alive.<br>
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