Environmental Toxins: Environmental Group Sues EPA

The Center for Biological Diversity plans to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for allowing pesticides to be used in the habitats of endangered species. The lawsuit alleges that the EPA did not adequately assess whether these chemicals are dangerous to these animals.

Environmental Group Sues EPA Over Bay Area Pesticides

The lawsuit states that the EPA did not consult the Fish and Wildlife Service before approving the use of 46 pesticides in the San Fransisco Bay Area. Eleven endangered species live in the area, including the delta smelt, the tidewater goby, the California clapper rail, the salt march harvest mouse, and the California tiger salamander. Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate with the center, says that "the registrations of contaminants known to be deadly to endangered species and harmful to human health, such as atrazine, should be canceled. Given the proximity of agricultural pesticide spraying to some Bay Area residential areas, surveys that have detected accumulation of pesticides in local creeks and San Francisco Bay, and what we know about movement of pesticides through drift and runoff, we should be wondering if we are next when we see endangered species poisoned by these chemicals."