Supreme Court Won’t Review Carbofuran Ban

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition to review a case involving EPA’s decision to ban residues of the pesticide carbofuran on domestic foods. FMC Corp., the sole manufacturer of carbofuran in the U.S., filed the petition along with three grower associations, claiming EPA did not follow proper procedures in 2008 when it denied FMC an administrative hearing to prove that the pesticide is safe. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated EPA’s rule regarding carbofuran residues on imported foods last year, but the court did not overturn EPA’s decision to deny a hearing and ban carbofuran residues on domestic foods. “We are greatly disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to review the lower court’s ruling on EPA’s actions, which sets a bad precedent for U.S. agriculture,” Michael Morelli, director of global regulatory affairs at FMC Agricultural Products Group, said in a statement.