Back in 2017, Bluestem posted about central Minnesota beekeeper Steve Ellis's role as lead plaintiff in a lawsuit charging EPA approved neonics with little thought to bees.
The post was built on Minnesota Public Radio reporter Dan Gunderson's Judge: EPA violated law in approving products dangerous to bees, butterflies:
A Minnesota beekeeper is claiming a partial victory in a federal lawsuit over the regulation of a common insecticide.
Last week, a federal judge in California ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency violated the federal Endangered Species Act when it approved dozens of neonicotinoid insecticide products.
Steve Ellis of central Minnesota is the lead plaintiff of suit, which claims the EPA approved products containing neonicotinoid insecticide without adequately considering harm to bees and endangered species. . . .
On Tuesday, Bloomberg Environment's Adam Allington reported in EPA Curbs Use of 12 Bee-Harming Pesticides:
The Environmental Protection Agency has canceled registration of a dozen pesticides, from a class of chemicals known to harm bees.
The cancellations are effective as of May 20 for 12 neonicotinoid-based products produced by Syngenta, Valent, and Bayer.
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act requires pesticides sold or distributed in the U.S. to be registered by the EPA.
Under a December settlement agreement linked to an Endangered Species Act challenge by environmental groups, the companies voluntarily agreed to petition EPA to cancel 12 out of 59 products containing the active ingredients clothianidin and thiamethoxam.
Developed as an alternative to organophosphate and carbamate pesticides, neonicotinoids are chemically related to nicotine, and attack the nervous system of insects.
Unlike traditional pesticides, “neonics” are also systemic, meaning that when taken up by the root system, the entire plant becomes toxic to insects.
“Today’s cancellation of these neonicotinoid pesticides is a hard-won battle and landmark step in the right direction,” said George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety, which litigated the case and was a party to the settlement agreement.
Often used as seed coatings on crops such as corn, cotton, and soybeans, in recent years increased use of neonics has been linked to declines of honeybees, wild bees, and other insects.
Impact for Farmers
Among the 12 pesticides canceled in the U.S., seven were for seed coating products used by farmers.
According to Syngenta, any move to further restrict access to neonicotinoids risks harming farmers by removing one of their most widely used insecticides.
“After five years of litigation, this settlement represents a positive outcome in the interest of all parties. The terms clearly support America’s farmers while ensuring continued protection of the environment,” Syngenta said in a statement.
“The settlement allows growers continued access to trusted neonicotinoid products containing thiamethoxam, essential for controlling destructive pests, managing resistance, and supporting integrated pest management.”
While farmers will still have access to other neonic-based products for the time being, environmental groups are pressing EPA for a complete ban on all outdoor uses for neonics in the coming years based on similar endangered species concerns.
“This entire class of active ingredient soon will be up for re-registration [under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act] by 2022,” said Kimbrell. “These first 12 were just an interim step.”
In April 2018, the European Union adopted a near total ban on outdoor uses of neonic pesticides.
The restrictions in the EU apply to 3 out of 5 active neonic ingredients, however the applications that remain are for plants who spend their entire life cycle in greenhouses.
Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, The Energy 202: EPA blocks a dozen products containing pesticides thought harmful to bees reports:
Finally, at the end of 2018, three agribusinesses — Bayer, Syngenta and Valent — agreed to let the EPA pull from shelves the 12 pesticide products used by growers ranging from large-scale agricultural businesses to home gardeners. The legal settlement also compels the EPA to analyze the impacts of the entire neonic class on endangered species.
Minnesota lawmakers respond
Minnesota state representatives who had offered builds to limit use of neonics responded on twitter today as the news spread in Forum Communications' newspapers reprinting the Washington Post article. Here's a sampling:
Center for Food Safety wins in case to force EPA to ban 12 neonicotinoids | 🐝🙂🦋#savethebees #mnleg https://t.co/5YG8uuXmoc
— Rep. Rick Hansen (@reprickhansen) May 23, 2019
In conference committee the #mnleg GOP Senate refused to take up the ban of neonicotinoids on wildlife management areas (which they passed unanimously 67-0) because it would "be the camel's nose under the tent." Well, the @EPA just banned 12 neonicotinoids yesterday. https://t.co/mh4LSw2AAa
— Fue Lee (@RepFueLee) May 23, 2019
I had a neonicotinoid bill this session that didn’t get any traction. So glad the EPA is doing something about it since MN can’t. https://t.co/s36Bj31UvF
— Kaohly Vang Her (@KaohlyVangHer) May 23, 2019
Products cancelled
Here's a screengrab of the list of the products and their manufacturers from the Federal Register:
Environmental groups strike skeptical notes
Environment America's sub-headline sums it up Statement: EPA bans some bee-killing pesticides
Decision is a good first step but more must be done to protect bees from neonics
Beyond Pesticides dives into the details in a blog post, Fulfilling Legal Settlement with Limited Scope, EPA Cancels Twelve Neonicotinoid Products:
(Beyond Pesticides, May 23, 2019) On Monday in the conclusion of a lawsuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final notices of cancellation on the registration of twelve neonicotinoid pesticide products in the Federal Register, each of which contains chlothianidin or thiamathoxam as an active ingredient. The decision to pull these products from the market was required as part of a legal settlement under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in December 2018 of a successful case, Ellis v. EPA, brought by beekeeper Steve Ellis and a coalition of other beekeepers and environmental groups, including Beyond Pesticides. The case establishes a legal precedent in which the court required action to address the bee-toxic effects of pesticides; however, the effect of the settlement and its impact on overall neonicotinoid and other systemic insecticide use is limited.
For all but two of the twelve canceled products, a nearly identical surrogate remains actively registered. Furthermore, the fact remains that there are hundreds more products containing the active ingredients targeted by the lawsuit that have not been removed in any capacity – 106 products containing clothianidin and 95 containing thiamethoxam remain untouched on the market. Breaking down the impacts of the EPA ruling even further, there are several eerily similar classes of insecticides that operate the same way neonicotinoids do that remain untouched by regulation. The sulfoxamine insecticide sufloxaflor, for example, is functionally identical to the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, which negatively impacts foraging and immune responses in bees. Even at low levels, sulfoxaflor impairs reproduction and reduces bumblebee colony size.
In the originating lawsuit, filed in 2013, plaintiffs made a number of claims related to EPA’s failure to protect pollinators from dangerous pesticides, its poor oversight of the bee-killing pesticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam, and its practice of “conditional registration,” as well as labeling deficiencies. Plaintiffs noted that the subject pesticides “have been shown to adversely impact the survival, growth, and health of honey bees and other pollinators vital to U.S. agriculture” and have “harmful effects on other animals, including threatened and endangered species.”
“The federal pesticide law is a weak statute and offers limited protection for bees, the ecosystem, and public health” said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. “People are taking matters into their own hands by adopting practices around their homes and community-wide and purchasing products that are protective of bees, the environment and people,” he continued.
In May 2017, a federal judge ruled that EPA violated the Endangered Species Act when it issued 59 neonicotinoid insecticide registrations between 2007 and 2012 for pesticide products containing clothianidin and thiamethoxam. U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney rejected the claims of intervenors (pesticide producers) that the plaintiffs had not established causation between the subject pesticides and the harm to plaintiffs. But rather than order EPA to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) — a requirement when a pesticide is registered (so as to reduce risks to endangered species) — the judge directed the parties, including the plaintiffs, defendant EPA, and intervenor Bayer CropScience, to move forward with a settlement conference to resolve the disputes. The result: a compromise solution with, at best, weakly protective impacts. The court ruling denied plaintiffs’ claims under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, the nation’s pesticide control law, that EPA had a statutory duty to suspend cited bee-toxic pesticides, as established in an emergency legal petition filed in March 2012. The judge said that the court lacked jurisdiction due to conflicting laws or EPA’s actions were not “approvals” subject to court challenge.
Canceled Product Active Registered Product Meridian 0.20G Meridian 0.33G & Meridian 25WG Meridian 0.14G Meridian 0.33G & Meridian 25WG Activa Complete Corn 500 Activa Complete Corn 250 THX/MXM/FDL/TBZ FS THX/MXM/FDL/TBZ/SDX FS Adage Delux Adage St Adage Premier Adage St Inovate Seed Protectant Inovate Pro Seed Protectant Inovate Neutral Seed Protectant Inovate Pro Seed Protectant Aloft GC G Insecticide Aloft GC SC Insecticide Flower, Rose & Shrub Care III Flower, Rose & Shrub Care II Systemic insecticide-treated seeds are pervasive and widely used across the agricultural landscape, home gardens, and public spaces. Of the two most widely planted crops in the U.S., between 79 to 100 percent of corn seed and 34 to 44 percent of soybean seed were treated with neonicotinoids in 2011. A conservative estimate of the area planted with neonic-treated corn, soybean, and cotton seed totals just over 100 million acres, or 57 percent of the entire area for these crops.
Pollinators are far from the only victims of ubiquitous systemic insecticide contamination. In a recent avian risk assessment, EPA scientists found that neonicotinoids present in treated seeds exceeds the agency’s level of concern for certain birds by as much as 200-fold. A 2017 study by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan confirmed that tiny amounts of neonicotinoids – the equivalent of just four treated canola seeds, for example – are enough to cause migrating songbirds to lose their sense of direction and become emaciated. Recent research uncovered the endocrine-disrupting health impacts of imidacloprid on white-tailed deer, leaving the disturbing open question: if large mammals are feeling the impacts, are humans as well?
In light of the shortcomings of federal action to protect pollinators, wildlife, and people, it is left up to the public to establish safe havens by creating pesticide-free habitat and educating others to do the same. Get involved at the community level to pass policies that protect imperiled pollinators. Use Beyond Pesticides’ resources and educational materials, including our BEE Protective doorknob hangers to get the word out. See Beyond Pesticides’ series celebrating unsung wild pollinator heroes through the Polli-NATION campaign.
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.
Bluestem will continue to watch for irony at the Minnesota state capitol. Erin Martin reported in Policy not left behind in environment and natural resources agreement:
The House also successfully included designation of the Rusty Patched bumble bee as the state bee.
Let's hope those endangered bumblebees don't get zapped by neo-nics, especially those with cancelled registrations.
Photo: Minnesota beekeeper Steve Ellis. Via Earthjustice.
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