EPA lawsuit could influence thousands, farm bureaus says

  By The Associated Press MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The American Farm Bureau and its West Virginia counterpart say an Environmental Protection Agency move aimed at cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay could set critical legal precedent for their members, so they should be allowed to intervene in an Eastern Panhandle chicken grower’s lawsuit. In a court […]

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EPA Releases Pyrethroid Risk Assessment, Ignores Numerous Health Effects

  (Beyond Pesticides, November 16, 2011) On November 9, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its cumulative risk assessment for the pyrethroid class of insecticides, concluding that these pesticides “do not pose risk concerns for children or adults,” ignoring a wealth of independent data that links this class of chemicals to certain cancers, […]

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PESTICIDES: Senate permit negotiations break down

  Jeremy P. Jacobs, E&E reporter October 31, 2011 Last-minute Senate negotiations to delay court-ordered permits for some pesticide users appear to have broken down at the end of last week, meaning U.S. EPA will have to begin issuing the new permits immediately. At issue is a 2009 federal appeals court ruling in National Cotton […]

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White House Proposes Increased Pesticide Registration Fees

  (Beyond Pesticides, September 22, 2011) As part of his $3 trillion deficit-reduction plan, President Obama has proposed to increase pesticide and chemical registration fees and reinstate tolerance assessment fees in order to cover the costs of evaluating the chemicals’ health and environmental effects data. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently collects fees from […]

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Roundup May Be Damaging Soil and Reducing Yields, Says USDA

  (Beyond Pesticides, August 22, 2011) A US Department of Agriculture (USDA) official speaking at an agricultural conference said that the heavy use of Roundup, an herbicide manufactured by Monsanto and used heavily on “Roundup Ready” genetically engineered (GE) crops, appears to be causing harmful changes in soil and potentially hindering yields of crops that […]

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Bill Reintroduced to Regulate Chemicals in Cosmetic Products

  (Beyond Pesticides, June 29, 2011) The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 was reintroduced last week in the House of Representatives aiming to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate personal care products, including cosmetics, to ensure they are free of harmful ingredients before they hit the shelves. Cosmetics currently go […]

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Bills to Regulate Endocrine Disruptors Introduced in Congress

  (Beyond Pesticides, July 22, 2011) Parallel bills have been introduced in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives designed to increase federal research on endocrine disrupting chemicals and ensure public safety by restricting or eliminating chemicals found to present unacceptable risks to public health. S 1361, introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA), and […]

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House panel fast-tracks bill to divest EPA of regulatory power

  (06/22/2011) Paul Quinlan, E&E reporter, Greenwire After a brief but rancorous debate, a House committee approved a fast-tracked bill that would shift regulatory powers over water, wetlands and mountaintop-mining regulation from U.S. EPA to the states. In a 35-19, largely party-line vote, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this morning approved the bill (H.R. […]

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Congress Advances Bill to Limit Clean Water Protections from Pesticides

  (Beyond Pesticides, March 11, 2011) The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture unanimously approved a bill, Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011 (H.R. 872), on Wednesday, March 9 which would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA) to eliminate provisions requiring pesticide applicators to obtain […]

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Senate Bill Threatens to Exempt Pesticide from Environmental Laws: Oppose HR 872

  Without a hearing or public discussion, the Senate Agriculture Committee voted to strip states and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of their fundamental responsibility to protect our nation’s waters from toxic pesticides. HR 872 amends the Clean Water Act (CWA) and federal pesticide law to prohibit authorities from requiring a permit for the discharge […]

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