NRDC v. E. Scott Pruitt et al. (Neonic Pesticides)
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In the past 25 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved thousands of neonicotinoid, or neonic, pesticides, a class of widely applied insecticides that are highly toxic to bees and other wildlife, including birds, butterflies, and aquatic species. A growing body of evidence reveals that neonics are a major cause of the recent bee die-offs seen around the world. Threatened and endangered species—like the just-listed rusty patched bumblebee—often face the greatest consequences from pesticide use.
In approving neonic pesticides, the EPA has not complied with the Endangered Species Act. Specifically, the agency has never consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as required by the act, to evaluate the impact of these toxic pesticides on threatened and endangered species.
In response, on October 2, 2017, NRDC filed a lawsuit challenging the registrations of dozens of products containing one of three wildlife-harming neonic pesticides: acetamiprid, dinotefuran, and imidacloprid. Our lawsuit aims to force the agency to evaluate the impacts pesticides have on imperiled species and to secure the protections the species need to survive.
The EPA and the pesticide industry attempted to dismiss the lawsuit, but on September 25, 2019, a federal court denied the motion, allowing the case to move forward. The case is still pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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Neonic Pesticides Are Killing Endangered Bees and Butterflies—but the EPA Keeps Approving Them Anyway
Neonicotinoid Pesticides Still Bad for Bees: Two Studies in Nature Journal Add to the Evidence
The Buzz About Colony Collapse Disorder
Court Denies EPA’s Attempt to Dismiss Lawsuit on the Use of Toxic Pesticides
WASHINGTON – A federal court denied the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to force the agency to include Endangered Species Act considerations in the process to approve new neonicotinoid pesticides, which are controversial due to concerns about their impacts on bees and wildlife.
NRDC Lawsuit Against EPA Challenges Neonic Pesticide Registrations
CHICAGO (October 3, 2017) – The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today asked a federal court to vacate the registrations of nearly one-hundred products containing three widely-used neonics – acetamiprid, dinotefuran, and imidacloprid – until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency complies with its legal obligations under the Endangered Species Act.