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The Ninth Circuit of the Federal Appeals Court ruled that the EPA violated the Endangered Species Act in approving dicamba herbicide. Accordingly, the registration for three formulations of Dicamba were revoked. Dicamba was approved by the EPA in 2018 despite evidence that use of the product in accordance with label instructions could damage non-treated soybean and cotton plants. The lawsuit was based on the fact that the EPA had not consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and failed to support the requirement for a fifty-foot buffer to protect endangered species.
The opinion of the Ninth Circuit will have profound implications for farmers that have planted dicamba-resistant crops in anticipation of applying the herbicide. Apparently some states will approve application to crops already planted.
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Farmer surveying damage to soy crop from Dicamba drift |
The decision by the 9th Circuit has created case law that may in the future be applied to revoke with cause registration of a drug or pesticide for flocks or a disinfectant or product used to suppress bacterial contamination of poultry products. It can be expected that activist organizations opposed to intensive livestock production may create difficulties for pharmaceutical, biologics and disinfectant producers and our industry by retroactively contesting products currently in use.