The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ordered EPA to respond by Tuesday (June 16) to an emergency motion filed by environmentalists and farmworker advocates who contend the agency has ignored the court’s directive to vacate registrations that permit the spraying of three dicamba products.
The petitioners then have to file their reply by June 18. The emergency motion focused on EPA’s decision to cancel the registration for three dicamba products, but allow the use of existing supplies of the products through July 31.
The agency action was based on precedence in other cases where the registration of a chemical was cancelled. Their emergency motion urged the court to compel the agency to bar any spraying of the dicamba products and hold EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler in contempt.
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement that he supported the EPA decision. “At a time when the security of the food supply chain is paramount, the Center for Biological Diversity and its allies seek to cripple American farmers and further limit their ability to feed, fuel, and clothe this nation and the world,” Perdue said. “The Ninth Circuit should not allow plaintiffs’ hostility against the American farmer to cloud the fact that the EPA’s actions follow both legal precedent and common sense.”
It is not yet clear what the court decision will be, but the accelerated timeline hopefully means the matter will be resolved soon.
Welcome
