The U.S. appellate court in San Francisco set a deadline of March 31 for EPA to decide whether to allow continued use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, says Agri-Pulse. In its decision, the three-judge panel said there would be no more extensions of the deadline previously set for this Dec. 31. The EPA had asked for six additional months.
The organophosphate pesticide is used on more than 50 crops, including alfalfa, corn, peanuts and wheat. Environmental groups filed a petition in 2007 for revocation of all uses, and sued EPA in 2013 and 2014 to force action due to toxicity concerns.
In its ruling, the appeals court said EPA repeatedly missed deadlines and issued a proposed rule before completing two studies that may play a role in its decision-making. “EPA’s continued delay is all the more significant since there are ‘considerable human health interests prejudiced by it,'” said the court, according to Agri-Pulse.