The EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, told a farm group, “[T]his is a new day, a new future, for a common-sense approach to environmental protection,” in the weeks before the EPA announced it would allow continued agricultural use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, according to records obtained by the New York Times. Environmental groups say the records, provided through the Freedom of Information Act, show EPA was doing favors for industry; the EPA said it was following the science.
“Taking emails out of context doesn’t change the fact that we continue to examine the science surrounding chlorpyrifos,” said an EPA spokeswoman to the Times. Pruitt took office as the EPA faced a court-imposed deadline of March 31 to respond to a petition by green groups to ban the insecticide, used on more than 50 crops, including alfalfa, corn, peanuts and wheat. The chemical was criticized as a threat to children and farmworkers. It was barred from residential use in 2000.
EPA scientists had recommended a ban on chlorpyrifos. At a March 1 meeting, farmers from Washington State told Pruitt there were few viable alternatives to chlorpyrifos and asked for “a reasonable approach to regulate this pesticide,” according to the EPA material given to the Times. “The emails indicate EPA officials closely coordinated their decision on chlorpyrifos with the White House and the Department of Agriculture, which is more closely linked with the agriculture industry and had questioned the justification for the ban.”