Groups Argue in Court to Preserve Chlorpyrifos

A total of 20 agricultural groups recently argued before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., about chlorpyrifos.  Specifically, they asked the court to reinstate chlorpyrifos tolerances that the EPA has found safe.  EPA revoked those safe tolerances, which effectively ended agriculture’s chance to use an important pesticide.

The decision has inflicted enormous costs on thousands of American farmers and undermined their ability to protect their crops from potentially devastating insect pests.  The groups said EPA revoked the safety tolerances despite finding on multiple occasions that at least 11 high-benefit crop uses could be safely maintained.

"Farmers rely on regulators following the law," said American Soybean Association President Daryl Cates.  "Congress wrote the pesticide laws that way to provide growers access to the tools they need to be successful and ensure those tools can be used safely.”

The groups are hopeful for a ruling in the coming months.

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