Trump appointees swayed dicamba approval, watchdog reports

The US Environmental Protection Agency did not follow established procedures in 2018 when it extended approval for herbicides containing dicamba, a report by the EPA’s inspector general (IG) office concludes. The failure to follow procedures that ensure scientifically sound decisions regarding pesticide registrations violated the agency’s scientific integrity policy, the report says. Specifically, the investigation found that the EPA did not internally peer review scientific documents used to support dicamba registrations. Senior-level Trump appointees were also more involved in the dicamba decisions than in those regarding other pesticides, according to staff scientists interviewed by the IG office. The staff scientists told the office that they had concerns about political appointees’ omitting conclusions about the potential for dicamba to drift to nontarget plants but said they felt constrained from sharing those concerns. Environmental groups challenged the EPA’s 2018 dicamba decision, and a federal appeals court ruled in their favor last year, ordering the agency to vacate the registrations. Late last year, however, the EPA revived two of the registrations.