[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]9th Circuit of Appeals vacated the EPA’s approval of the pesticide sulfoxaflor[/title][fusion_text]Thursday, September 10th 2015
The U.S. 9th Circuit of Appeals vacated the EPA’s approval of the pesticide sulfoxaflor, concluding that the agency violated federal law when it approved the registration without additional studies regarding potential impact on honeybees. The case, Pollinator Stewardship Council vs. EPA, stems from the regulatory agency’s unconditional registration in 2013 of two products invented by Dow AgroSciences LLC with the active ingredient sulfoxaflor – a new insecticide that targets a range of pests. EPA initially proposed to conditionally register sulfoxaflor and requested additional studies to address data gaps regarding the pesticide’s effects on bees. The three-judge panel concluded that the “unconditional approval was not supported by substantial evidence.” The approval is remanded back to EPA to obtain further studies of the effects of sulfoxaflor on bees. In the meantime, U.S. growers will be unable to use sulfoxaflor, marketed in the U.S. as Transform and Closer, on crops such as citrus, cotton, canola, strawberries, soybeans and wheat. Petitioners who sued EPA include the Pollinator Stewardship Council, the American Honey Producers Association, the National Honey Bee Advisory Board, the American Beekeeping Federation, and beekeepers Thomas Smith, Bret Adee and Jeffery Anderson.
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