Report: Pesticide Effects on Endangered Critters Needs Closer Look
Friday, May 3, 2013
BOISE, Idaho – The Environmental Protection Agency is being urged to do a better job of considering the effects that pesticides have on endangered fish and wildlife.
A national panel of experts this week released a report that says the EPA hasn't been working closely enough with fish and wildlife agencies before making its decisions.
Steve Mashuda, an attorney with the environmental advocacy group Earthjustice, testified before the panel. He says the National Academy of Sciences report could help resolve a longstanding concern in Idaho.
"We have more than 10 years since the agencies were first directed to consult with one another,” he says. “And we still don't have necessary protections on the ground for salmon and steelhead."
Mashuda adds farm chemicals aren't the only concerns. He says pesticides used on golf courses and residential lawns often end up in the air and water, affecting fish and animals.
The report says a lack of coordination between agencies has hampered the risk assessment process, but that it is possible to improve it with better communication.
The report faults the EPA for only looking at lethal pesticide doses – even though lower doses can also be serious – affecting growth and reproduction, killing a species' food source or habitat, and more. Mashuda says that can be changed.
"This report says that those what are called 'sub-lethal' or indirect effects need to be accounted for earlier in the process,” he says. “And EPA really needs to cast a wide net in order to look at the full range of effects."
The report says other agencies, such as the National Marine Fisheries Service, should be consulted if an EPA decision would affect a listed or endangered species.
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