Dicamba Herbicide Lawsuit Cites Endangered Species Act Concerns

Environmental groups are challenging an Environmental Protection Agency decision to allow the sale of an herbicide marketed as a solution for farmers dealing with difficult weeds ( Nat’l Family Farm Coal. v. EPA , 9th Cir., No. 17-70196, 1/20/17 ).  The challengers, which include the National Family Farm Coalition, Center for Food Safety, Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America, filed a lawsuit Jan. 20 in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals against the EPA’s approval of Monsanto Co.'s XtendiMax, a combination of the herbicides dicamba and glyphosate. In a statement, the groups cited health concerns due to increased pesticide exposure and the evolution of more herbicide-resistant weeds as reasons to rescind the approval.