Public-interest groups representing farmers and conservationists filed arguments in court seeking to have the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of dicamba struck down. The arguments are a continuation of an earlier lawsuit that resulted in a 2020 court ruling overturning prior approvals of dicamba as unlawful. The groups say the new litigation was prompted by the EPA’s decision to ignore the court’s ruling and move forward with reapproving the pesticide.
“We now have years of incontrovertible evidence revealing that these dicamba products cannot be used without causing grave harm to other farmers and the environment,” says George Kimbrell, legal director of the Center for Food Safety and counsel in the case.
The petitioners say dicamba drift and runoff damage natural areas and wildlife refuges, injuring wild flowering plants, including some federally-protected species on which bees and other insects rely. Plaintiff groups include the National Family Farm Coalition, Pesticide Action Network, and others.
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