Sierra Club is one of the plaintiffs.--Tom
In a message dated 5/7/2013 5:52:34 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
http://modernfarmer.com/2013/05/can-a-lawsuit-save-americas-bees/
(edited)
Steve Ellis and a handful of other beekeepers from around the country are
teaming up with some of the most powerful and sophisticated environmental
groups in the U.S.
They're plaintiffs in a lawsuit, Ellis v. Bradbury (read the complaint
_here_ (http://www.scribd.com/collections/4246349/Ellis-v-Bradbury) ), against
the EPA to stop the use of two pesticides that Ellis and other beekeepers
believe are killing their bee colonies. The suit not only attempts to
eliminate the use of neonicotinoid pesticides containing the ingredients
clothianidin and thiamethoxam, which damage the central nervous system of insects,
but to challenge the way the EPA approves pesticides.
If they win, it could change the way pesticides hit the market. If they
lose, Ellis and the others believe it could be the end of beekeeping as we
know it.
They are far from alone in their concerns-the European Union _voted in
late April to temporarily ban some neonicotinoids_
(http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/business/global/30iht-eubees30.html) , including those fingered in
the suit, for two years because of their detrimental effect on honeybees.
"We're right on the edge of losing it, and we need help right now," says
Ellis.
To that end, the beekeepers set out to find allies. They include nonprofit
advocacy groups such as the _Center for Food Safety_
(http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/) , _Beyond Pesticides_ (http://www.beyondpesticides.org/) ,
_the Sierra Club_ (http://www.sierraclub.org/) , _Pesticide Action Network
North America_ (http://www.panna.org/) , and the _Center for Environmental
Health_ (http://www.ceh.org/) who collectively filed the suit (as well as
three other beekeepers) in federal court in late March. The EPA has until
mid-May to respond.
The dire situation has garnered international attention and at stake is
not only the fate of honeybees and the ecosystems that depend on them for
pollination, but perhaps more tellingly the farmers who require the hives of
commercial beekeepers to pollinate their crops, including almonds, stone
fruits, avocados, apples, and carrots.
Ellis and the environmental groups believe that clothianidin and thiamet
hoxam - insecticides applied to dozens of crops spread over more than 100
million acres by farmers seeking to protect their yields from a variety of
insects - are in large part to blame for colony collapse disorder. They say
that their bees become contaminated with the nerve agents while foraging
nectar from the treated crops.
As to why the EPA has been slow to name pesticides as the primary culprit,
Ellis says, "They seem more interested in getting products registered
quickly, than doing work to protect the environment from the result of those
products."
Ultimately, if a person or group has a beef with a pesticide, they must
take it to the EPA's doorstep. The _Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)_ (http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/lfra.html) tasks the
agency with regulating the use and sale of pesticides to protect humans and
the environment. But when it comes to putting pesticides on the market, the
EPA can "conditionally" greenlight products. That means they OK a pesticide
for use with the understanding that additional scientific data is needed
before final registration can be approved. And that process, the lawsuit
says, has been abused.
According to the complaint, thiamethoxam and clothianidin were
conditionally registered in 2000 and 2003 respectively. There are no set deadlines for
conditionally registered products to be reviewed, and more than a decade
later, the requirement for basic scientific studies on the impact of the
insecticides has gone unmet. Among the outstanding studies, the complaint says
that EPA hasn't fulfilled its stated requirement to "complete an adequate
life cycle study, and evaluation of exposure and effect to the queen bee."
"They have remained conditionally registered for 10 years without adequate
information," says Peter Jenkins, lead counsel on the suit for the Center
for Food Safety. "That wasn't what Congress intended, and we think that's a
compelling argument to make before a judge."
The suit also argues that the EPA has denied that certain uses of
clothianidin pose an "imminent hazard" to honey bees and made this final
determination without considering new data about bee kills. It also claims that the
EPA repeatedly failed to publically announce new or changed uses of the
pesticides. And this could provide some relief for beekeepers. When it was
found in recent similar cases that the EPA failed to meet public notice
requirements, those pesticide registrations were in part withdrawn.
For many watching the case from the sidelines, of great interest is how
the EPA will weigh its legal obligations. When the EPA registers a pesticide,
it must balance the risks and benefits the chemical poses to the national
food supply. Given that on the one hand neonicotinoids are used on corn,
cereals, and sugar beets (among other major agricultural crops), and on the
other that one-third of U.S. crops depend on pollinators, the stakes are
enormous.
"I'm not familiar with another case where there would be anywhere near
that large of an economic impact on both sides of equation," says former EPA
attorney Tom Boer, who is now with the environmental defense law firm Barg
Coffin Lewis and Trapp.
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