http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WST_Pesticides_Salmon.html
October 18, 2005
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Judge orders EPA to notify retailers, distributors,
about pesticide concerns
By PEGGY ANDERSEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SEATTLE -- A federal judge has ordered the Environmental Protection
Agency to send letters to pesticide retailers, distributors and
wholesalers in three states, outlining their responsibilities
for notifying consumers about the dangers posed to salmon by the
chemicals.
The order from U.S. District Judge John Coughenour is a follow
up to his January 2004 decision banning the use of pesticides
near streams in Washington, Oregon and California until the EPA
determines that 38 chemicals won't harm salmon. That ruling was
upheld in June by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In addition to the 20-yard no-spray buffer zones Coughenour ordered
near rivers containing threatened or endangered salmon or steelhead,
the plaintiffs wanted to ensure urban consumers in those areas
are alerted to potential problems when they shop for garden products.
Coughenour had ordered warning labels posted alongside seven
pesticides by retailers in affected urban areas. On Monday, at
the plaintiffs' request, he ordered the EPA to advise retailers
and suppliers by mail of the new requirements.
Local EPA officials declined to comment, referring calls to headquarters
in Washington, D.C. A call there was not immediately returned.
"This is good news for salmon," said Patti Goldman
at Earthjustice, which represented the Washington Toxics Coalition
and other plaintiffs in the case. "Consumers will have the
information in the store to make informed choices to protect salmon
from pesticides."
Affected are urban areas in the three states within range of
listed salmon or steelhead runs, mostly in coastal areas, Goldman
said.
"What we really hope to see are notices posted in stores
so consumers can make smarter choices and protect salmon,"
she said.
EPA has designed such a notice. It reads: "SALMON HAZARD.
This product contains pesticides which may harm salmon and steelhead.
Use of this product in urban areas can pollute salmon streams."
At issue are products containing Malathion, Carbaryl, Trifluralin
and Triclopyr, Diuron, 2,4-D and Diazinon. While listed
in the order, Diazinon is not longer sold in urban markets, Goldman
said.
In his ruling Monday, Coughenour agreed that publishing a notice
in the Federal Register and on the EPA Web site does not constitute
the personal notice to retailers required by his 2004 order. Publication
on the EPA Web site "is only an effective means of communicating
with the relevant retailers if that group is aware that the Web
site exists," he wrote.
Coughenour also ordered the EPA to list products containing those
chemicals in its notification to retailers. He ordered similar
notices sent to pesticide distributors, wholesalers, retailers,
brokers, dealers and others.
The coalition and three other fishing and environmental groups
sued the EPA in 2001, saying the agency failed to follow Endangered
Species Act requirements in assessing the risks that 54 pesticides
pose to salmon. The plaintiffs cited National Marine Fisheries
Service studies and other reports that indicated even very low
levels of pesticides can damage salmon.
Coughenour found in 2002 that the EPA had violated the Endangered
Species Act. In January 2004, he applied the restrictions to 38
pesticides, saying the EPA had determined the others posed little
risk. He also banned the aerial spraying of pesticides within
100 yards of streams, except for public health reasons like controlling
mosquitos.
On the Net:
EPA site for this case: http://www.epa.gov/espp/wtc/
Earthjustice: http://www.earthjustice.org/
