FEATURED ISSUE
EPA loophole regulating ethanal-coated seeds
Have you been aware of the ongoing legal battle between the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about pesticide-treated seeds? Since 2017, the CFS has unsuccessfully tried petitioning the EPA to cease allowing the pesticide ethanal to be coated on seeds, instead of being included with other pesticide excluding regulations. There have been many articles documenting ethanal’s harm to humans, animals, and the environment. With new action, the CFS has been joined by the Pesticide Action Network North America in a lawsuit against the EPA “to close the regulatory loophole allowing seeds coated with systemic pesticides (coated seeds) to evade the registration and labeling requirements of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).” With some background information, you will have an easier time understanding what is at stake with this battle.

ISSUE: Can ethanal-treated seeds be fairly regulated?

AHHA strives to maintain a neutral position and views knowledge as power. For those interested in this month’s Issue, the following articles have been selected so that you can get a greater understanding of the arguments supporting each side of the battle. You are encouraged to delve deeper and expand your knowledge of this matter using these articles as a springboard.

Consumer Products Treated with Pesticides
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
[How Products Treated with Pesticides are Regulated…The term “treated articles” typically refers to items that are treated with an antimicrobial pesticide to protect the item itself.]

Help Stop Pesticide-Treated Seeds from Poisoning the Environment (3/25/19)
Beyond Pesticides
[A review of the literature indicates that 90 to 99% of active ingredient delivered through seed treatments is lost to air, soil, and water –including environmental losses caused by the release of contaminated seed dust during mechanical planting (Wood and Goulson, 2017)]

EPA Responds to Treated Seed Petition (9/28/22)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
[EPA does not agree with the petition claims as to the treated article exemption and thus is not granting the petition requests to either interpret or amend the regulatory text for the exemption to categorically exclude seed treated with systemic pesticides from the exemption.]

EPA Refuses to Close Pesticide-Coated Seed Loophole That Kills Bees and Endangered Species (9/28/22)
Center for Food Safety
[“We gave EPA a golden chance and a blueprint to fix a problem that has caused significant harm to people, bees, birds, and the environment — and it stubbornly refused.”]

EPA Breaking the Law to Help Pesticide Companies (6/22/23)
Alliance for Natural Health USA
[Incredibly, the use of pesticide-coated seeds, both in ethanol production and to grow food, is completely legal, and the EPA has refused to regulate these toxic seeds…]

Case 3:23-cv-02714 (5/31/23)
Center for Food Safety and Pesticide Action Network North America vs. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
[…urged EPA to close the regulatory loophole allowing seeds coated with systemic pesticides (coated seeds) to evade the registration and labeling requirements of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).]

Groups Sue EPA Over Failure to Regulate Insecticide-Coated Seeds (6/1/23)
Center for Food Safety
[Today’s filing follows a 2017 CFS rulemaking petition calling on EPA to close the loophole that allows these coated seeds to evade federal pesticide registration and labeling requirements, which are otherwise required for all insecticides. EPA ignored the petition for years, forcing CFS to sue the agency in 2021 and force an answer through settlement. EPA then finally answered the petition only to deny it. This case now challenges that denial as unlawful.]

EPA sued over pesticide-coated seeds’ ‘devastating impacts’ on US wildlife (6/10/23)
The Guardian
[the EPA has claimed it has already thoroughly studied neonicotinoids and does not need to conduct reviews of the seed.]

Schedule for Review of Neonicotinoid Pesticides (5/4/23)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
[The dockets for all the neonicotinoid pesticides are open. EPA’s goal is to review the pesticides in this class in the same timeframe so we can ensure consistency across the class. As EPA completes risk assessments for the neonicotinoids, the Agency will pursue risk mitigation, as appropriate.]

You are encouraged to go to our blog at ahha.org/blog and post your comments..