Integrating Pesticide Risk Assessment

Federal agencies should use a common approach and work together when assessing the risks of pesticides on endangered species, according to a report from the National Research Council. Under the Endangered Species Act, EPA must consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish & Wildlife Service if EPA determines that a pesticide it is registering may affect an endangered species or its critical habitat. EPA has faced numerous lawsuits for decades for failing to initiate such consultations, particularly during safety reviews of pesticides that are already on the market. Last month, a district court dismissed a complaint by the Center for Biological Diversity, which sued EPA for failing to initiate endangered species consultations for 382 pesticides. The court ruled that the plaintiffs must file a separate claim for each pesticide of concern. EPA plans to review the safety of more than 1,000 pesticides currently on the market over the next 10 years. The reevaluations could trigger thousands of endangered species consultations. To streamline the process, Marine Fisheries and Fish & Wildlife should build on EPA’s analyses instead of conducting new ones, the report says.