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EPA: Rat Poisons Pushing Dozens of Endangered Species Toward Extinction, Including Florida Panthers, California Condors
WASHINGTON— A new Environmental Protection Agency evaluation finds rodenticides are harming more than 130 endangered species and pushing at least 73 toward extinction.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA Approval of Denver Oil Refinery Air Permit
DENVER— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of an air pollution permit that allows a Suncor Energy oil refinery to release harmful amounts of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Protect American Bumblebees, Three Other Bee Species
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice today of its intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to protect four imperiled bee species, including American bumblebees, under the Endangered Species Act. Southern Plains bumblebees, variable cuckoo bumblebees and blue calamintha bees are also included in today’s filing.
Read more.Petition Urges EPA to Set Outdoor Air Pollution Standards, Better Protect Communities
WASHINGTON— Conservation groups representing millions of people petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency today to improve standards to protect communities from outdoor air pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Failure to Address Dangerous Nitrogen Air Pollution
OAKLAND, Calif.— Conservation and public health groups filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to review and update air-quality standards that protect people from harmful nitrogen pollution nationwide.
Read more.Appeals Court Rejects Colorado Free Pass for Fracking Air Pollution
DENVER— A federal appeals court ruled today that Colorado’s rule allowing unlimited amounts of air pollution from drilling and hydraulic fracturing for oil and methane gas without a permit is illegal.
Read more.Landmark Legal Settlement Locks in EPA Actions to Protect Endangered Species From Pesticides
SAN FRANCISCO— A historic legal agreement approved in federal district court yesterday afternoon commits the Environmental Protection Agency to a suite of proposed reforms to better protect endangered species from pesticides. The settlement, which covers more than 300 pesticide active ingredients, marks the culmination of the largest Endangered Species Act case ever filed against the EPA.
Read more.Lawsuit Targets State of Utah for Failing to Protect Great Salt Lake
SALT LAKE CITY— Conservation and community groups sued the state of Utah today for its failure to ensure that enough water reaches the Great Salt Lake to prevent ecological collapse.
Read more.Judge Rules EPA Failed to Protect Endangered Wildlife From Cadmium Water Pollution
TUCSON, Ariz.— In a precedent-setting decision, a federal judge ruled late Friday that the Environmental Protection Agency violated the Endangered Species Act in 2016 when it failed to assess harms to endangered species before nearly tripling the levels of the heavy metal cadmium allowed in U.S. waters. The ruling, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, follows a 2022 lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Read more.Court Rejects Trump Administration Denial of Critical Habitat Protection to Endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebees
WASHINGTON— A federal judge on Friday rejected the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to refuse to designate critical habitat for highly endangered rusty patched bumblebees and ordered the Service to reconsider.
Read more.Environmental Groups Ask to Join EPA Fight Against Colorado Effort to Hide Air-Pollution Data
DENVER— The Center for Biological Diversity and 350 Colorado asked a court today for permission to join the Environmental Protection Agency’s fight against a Polis administration lawsuit seeking to block public access to data detailing oil and gas industry air pollution.
Read more.EPA Petitioned to Require Accurate Measurement of Smog-Causing Pollution From Flares at Four Colorado Oil, Gas Well Pads
WELD COUNTY, Colo.— Conservation and public-health groups have filed a petition urging the Environmental Protection Agency to require adequate testing of the toxic air pollution emitted by four oil and gas well pads owned and operated by the Bonanza Creek Energy Operating Company.
Read more.Legal Agreement Will Help Protect Endangered Wildlife From Pesticides Applied to Waterways
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity has reached a legal agreement requiring two federal agencies to assess harms to threatened and endangered wildlife from the direct application of pesticides to waters.
Read more.EPA Petitioned to Update 47-Year-Old Toxic Pollutant List
PORTLAND, Ore.— Conservation groups submitted a formal legal petition today urging the Environmental Protection Agency to add more than 1,000 industrial and commercial pollutants to its outdated list of toxic pollutants requiring regulation under the Clean Water Act.
Read more.EPA Makes Pesticide Incident Reports Publicly Available for First Time
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it will make the most recent 10 years of pesticide incident reports available to the public in a searchable database to be updated every month.
Read more.AgLogic Asks EPA to Dramatically Expand Florida Use of Dangerous Pesticide
WASHINGTON— Pesticide-maker AgLogic has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to approve use of the dangerous pesticide aldicarb on Florida oranges and grapefruits.
Read more.EPA Orders Warning Labels on Seresto Flea Collars Linked to Thousands of Pet Injuries, Deaths
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency today ordered warning labels be placed on Seresto flea and tick collars, which have been linked to tens of thousands of pet injuries and deaths in recent years.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Challenging EPA’s Failure to Address Dangerous Nitrogen Air Pollution
OAKLAND, Calif.— Conservation and public-health groups filed formal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to review and update the air-pollution limits that protect human health from harmful nitrogen pollution nationwide.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed Challenging EPA’s Approval of Colorado Smog-Reduction Plan
DENVER— The Center for Biological Diversity and 350 Colorado filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of a plan that failed to adequately reduce smog in the Metro Denver and North Front Range by July 2021.
Read more.Federal Court Rejects Weld County’s Request to Exempt Fossil Fuel Companies From Smog-reduction Measures
DENVER— A federal appeals court today rejected an attempt by commissioners in Colorado’s Weld County to let some oil and gas operations off the hook for their contribution to asthma-causing smog in the Denver and Front Range region.
Read more.Federal Judge Nixes Approval of Idaho Phosphate Mine
BOISE, Idaho— A federal judge on Friday fully vacated a set of approvals by the Bureau of Land Management authorizing development of the Caldwell Canyon phosphate mine in southeastern Idaho.
Read more.Judge Rules Colorado Failed to Protect Waterways from Factory Farm Pollution
DENVER— A Colorado court has ruled that the state’s Department of Public Health & Environment violated state and federal laws by failing to protect waterways with essential monitoring provisions in a statewide general water-pollution permit for concentrated animal feeding operations.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Reduce Air Pollution From Oil, Methane Gas Industries in Pennsylvania
PHILADELPHIA— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today against the Environmental Protection Agency for delays in deciding whether to approve or reject Pennsylvania’s outdated plan to clean up smog from the methane gas industry. The methane gas is mainly extracted using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Read more.EPA: Three Popular Neonicotinoid Pesticides Likely to Drive More Than 200 Endangered Plants, Animals Extinct
WASHINGTON— An assessment released today by the Environmental Protection Agency found that three popular neonicotinoid insecticides are likely to jeopardize the continued existence of more than 200 plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. This includes 25 insect species and more than 160 plants dependent on insect pollination.
Read more.Biden Administration Sued for Failing to Protect Endangered Species Habitat From Harmful Pesticides
TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to push it to take action to stop endangered species from being harmed by pesticides in habitats that are critical to their survival.
Read more.High Levels of Dangerous ‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in California’s Most-Used Insecticide
WASHINGTON— California’s most-used insecticide, along with two other pesticides, is contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of PFAS “forever chemicals,” according to test results released today by the Center for Biological Diversity and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Read more.Gov. DeSantis Urged to Veto Radioactive Roads Bill
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— More than 20 conservation organizations across the Southeast urged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis today to veto House Bill 1191, which would allow the use of radioactive fertilizer waste in road construction across the state.
Read more.Florida Issues Draft Permit for Piney Point Phosphate Facility Following Clean Water Act Lawsuit
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Following litigation, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has issued a draft Clean Water Act permit for the Piney Point phosphate facility in Manatee County. The previous permit for the facility expired in March 2001.
Read more.Farmers, Conservationists Ask Court to Strike Down Crop-Damaging Dicamba Pesticide
TUCSON, Ariz.— Four public-interest organizations representing farmers and conservationists filed arguments seeking to have a federal court again strike down the Environmental Protection Agency’s controversial approval of the drift-prone, volatile herbicide dicamba.
Read more.EPA Sued Over Unregulated Water Pollution From Oil Refineries, Plastics Plants, Other Industries
WASHINGTON— Environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to set limits on harmful chemicals like cyanide, benzene, mercury and chlorides in wastewater emitted by oil refineries and plants that produce chemicals, fertilizer, plastics, pesticides and nonferrous metals.
Read more.EPA: Sulfoxaflor Insecticide Likely Puts 63 Endangered Species in Jeopardy of Extinction
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency released a final biological evaluation today showing that a single chemical, the bee-killing insecticide sulfoxaflor, is likely putting 4% of all endangered plants and animals in jeopardy of extinction.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Against Biden Administration Over Failure to Act on Petition to Prohibit Pesticides in Endangered Species Critical Habitat
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to respond to a January 2019 petition to prohibit nearly all uses of pesticides in areas designated as critical habitat for endangered species.
Read more.50 Groups Send Letter to Oregon Lawmakers Urging Passage of Senate Bill 85-1
SALEM, Ore.— The Stand Up to Factory Farms coalition sent a letter from 50 organizations to Oregon lawmakers today urging passage of Senate Bill 85-1, which would pause factory farm permitting to better address the operations’ pollution risks.
Read more.Court Voids Colorado’s OK of Increased Air Pollution From Tanker Truck Facility in Commerce City
DENVER— A state judge has voided a permit issued by the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division allowing a tanker truck repair shop to emit more asthma-causing air pollution. Polar Service Center is located in a part of Commerce City already heavily overburdened with pollution.
Read more.Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to Hear Testimony Friday on Abuses at U.S. Factory Farms
LOS ANGELES— The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will hear testimony on Friday about human rights abuses linked to industrial meat, egg and dairy facilities in the United States. The testimony is part of the commission's multi-day period of sessions focused on “Reimagining Rights in the Americas.”
Read more.EPA Petitioned to Halt Export of U.S.-Banned Pesticides to Developing Countries Unless Approved by Their Governments
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for International Environmental Law filed a legal petition today urging the Environmental Protection Agency to forbid export of pesticides banned in the United States to any country without prior consent of that country’s relevant authorities.
Read more.In Response to Lawsuit, EPA Agrees to Timeline for First Updates to Slaughterhouse Water-Pollution Standards in Nearly 20 Years
WASHINGTON— In a victory for clean water, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its intent today to publish updated water-pollution control standards for slaughterhouses and animal rendering facilities by August 2025.
Read more.Analysis: 4 Years Into Polis Administration, Coal Is Still Colorado’s Main Electricity Source as State Lags Behind on Green Energy
DENVER— Four years into Gov. Jared Polis’ administration, Colorado lags behind many other states in transitioning to a renewable energy economy, according to recently released U.S. Energy Information Administration data.
Read more.Florida Legislature Considers Use of Radioactive Phosphogypsum in Road Construction
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Legislature introduced two bills today that would pave the way for the use of radioactive phosphogypsum in road construction.
Read more.Suit Launched to Force EPA to Tackle Toxic Air Pollution From Colorado Fossil Fuel Waste Disposal Plant
PARACHUTE, Colo.— The Center for Biological Diversity filed notice today of its intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to respond to the Center’s challenge to the methods used to control toxic air pollution at a facility that disposes of liquid waste from fracking and oil and gas production.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Require California to Close Loophole, Regulate Pesticide-Treated Seeds
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Environmental and public health groups have filed a legal challenge seeking to close the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s loophole allowing crop seeds treated with pesticides to avoid regulation as pesticides.
Read more.Legal Agreement Forces EPA Action to Reduce Dangerous Smog Levels in Parts of California, Texas
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency agreed today to meet deadlines for reducing smog in parts of California and Texas that have some of the nation’s worst air pollution.
Read more.Rechazo enérgico a la injerencia de EUA en la política agrícola y de alimentación en México
El Centro para la Diversidad Biológica y Greenpeace México rechazan enérgicamente la intervención de los Estados Unidos en la decisión de México de eliminar gradualmente el glifosato y el maíz transgénico producido utilizando prácticas agrícolas intensivas en plaguicidas.
Read more.Statement on U.S. Intervention in Mexico’s Phaseout of Genetically Engineered Corn
The Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace México strongly condemn the United States’ heavy-handed intervention into Mexico’s decision to phase out genetically engineered (GE) corn that’s produced using pesticide-intensive farming practices and the herbicide glyphosate.
Read more.Senate to Consider Legislation to Protect America’s Children From Toxic Pesticides
WASHINGTON— U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced legislation today to increase protections against exposure to toxic pesticides.
Read more.Federal Judge Finds BLM Imperiled Sage Grouse, Broke Environmental Laws in Approving Idaho Phosphate Mine
BOISE, Idaho— A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that in approving the Caldwell Canyon phosphate mine the Bureau of Land Management had failed to adequately assess environmental harms, including harms to vital habitat for the imperiled sage grouse.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Challenge EPA’s Failure to Protect Colorado From Oil, Gas Industries’ Asthma-Causing Smog
DENVER— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency today to limit pollution from drilling and hydraulic fracturing for oil and methane gas in Colorado.
Read more.Legal Arguments Begin in Case Challenging EPA’s Decision to Authorize Medically Important Antibiotic as Citrus Pesticide
SAN FRANCISCO— The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral argument on Monday challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the medically important antibiotic streptomycin as a pesticide on citrus crops.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Delay in Reducing Harmful Soot Pollution in California, Pennsylvania
OAKLAND, Calif.— Conservation and public health groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to ensure that an effective plan is in place to reduce soot pollution in Los Angeles.
Read more.Court Forces EPA to Address Harms of Four Pesticides to Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals today ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to address the harms of four pesticides to endangered plants and animals.
Read more.Legal Victory: Court Rules EPA’s Registration of Bee-Killing Insecticide Unlawful, Citing Failure to Assess Risks to Endangered Species
SAN FRANCISCO— In a major win for pollinators and other wildlife, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit today ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to protect endangered species from the bee-killing insecticide sulfoxaflor. The court held that the agency’s 2019 decision to allow new uses of sulfoxaflor across more than 200 million acres of pollinator-attractive crops violated the Endangered Species Act.
Read more.International Coalition Urges Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to Investigate Abuses of Industrial Meat, Egg, Dairy Facilities
WASHINGTON— Indigenous, human-rights, conservation, and public-health groups are asking the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to hold a thematic hearing on human-rights abuses caused by industrial meat, egg and dairy facilities across the American continents.
Read more.Groups Petition EPA to Require Better Measurement of Toxic Air Pollution Emitted by Colorado Plant’s Disposal of Fossil Fuel Waste
PARACHUTE, Colo.— Conservation and public health groups filed a petition today urging the Environmental Protection Agency to require adequate measurement of the toxic air pollution being emitted by a facility that disposes of liquid waste from fracking and oil and gas production.
Read more.Legal Victory: Court Orders EPA to Protect Endangered Wildlife From Toxic Pesticide
WASHINGTON— A federal appeals court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency today to fulfill its long-delayed mandatory duties to protect endangered species from the highly toxic insecticide cyantraniliprole.
Read more.120-Plus Groups Call on EPA to Protect Black, Indigenous, People of Color From Pesticides
WASHINGTON— More than 120 groups today urged Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to put commonsense safeguards in place to better protect Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, as well as low-wealth communities, from disproportionate harm from pesticides.
Read more.Newly Obtained EPA Documents Reveal Seresto Flea Collars Now Linked to More Than 100,000 Reports of Harm to Pets, Nearly 2,700 Deaths
WASHINGTON— Reports of harm to pets wearing Seresto flea collars have now soared to 100,592, including 2,698 deaths, according to new Environmental Protection Agency incident reports obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Colorado’s Approval of Increased Air Pollution From Tanker Truck Facility in Commerce City
DENVER— Conservation and community groups sued the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division today for issuing a permit allowing Polar Service Center, a tanker truck repair shop, to emit increased asthma- and cancer-causing air pollution.
Read more.California Regulators Urged to Ban Herbicide Linked to Parkinson’s Disease
OAKLAND, Calif.— Conservation and public health groups today called on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to reevaluate approval of the herbicide paraquat and ban its use in the state.
Read more.Legal Petition Urges California Officials to Phase Out Deadly Pesticide Linked to Climate Change
OAKLAND, Calif.— Environmental groups filed a formal legal petition today urging the California Air Resources Board to phase out the insecticide sulfuryl fluoride because of its significant contribution to global warming.
Read more.Rare Cuckoo Bumblebees Move One Step Closer to U.S. Endangered Species Protection
TUCSON, Ariz.— In response to a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed today to a deadline of December 2024 to determine whether Suckley’s cuckoo bumblebees warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Read more.As U.S. Pesticide Law Turns 50, Assessment Highlights Fast-Track Approvals of Poisons Banned Across Much of World
WASHINGTON— Fifty years after Congress passed the current Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act to protect people and the environment, the law has instead fast-tracked approval of dangerous pesticides banned across much of the world.
Read more.Legal Agreement Requires EPA to Set New Limits on Soot, Sulfur, Nitrogen Air Pollution
OAKLAND, Calif.— A federal judge approved a legal agreement today requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to update measures protecting the environment from soot, sulfur and nitrogen air pollution by Dec. 10, 2024.
Read more.Legal Agreement Spurs EPA to Take Stronger Steps to Reduce Smog Pollution in Areas of Five States With Some of Nation’s Worst Air Quality
OAKLAND, Calif.— As a result of a legal agreement with environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency has downgraded the smog pollution rating in portions of five states from “serious” to “severe.” The downgrade will trigger more protective measures to reduce the dangerous levels of smog pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Push EPA to Enforce Clean Air Act Protections for UNC-Chapel Hill’s Coal-Fired Power Plant
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and the town of Carrboro, North Carolina, filed a formal notice of intent today to sue the Environmental Protection Agency to force it to act on a petition challenging the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s inadequate air-pollution permit.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Delay in Smog Reduction in Five States
OAKLAND, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health filed an updated lawsuit today to sue the Environmental Protection Agency to force it to ensure that effective smog-reduction plans are in place in five states.
Read more.Cancer-Linked Pesticide 1,3-D Moves Closer to Reapproval
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency proposed today to reapprove the cancer-linked fumigant 1,3-Dichloropropene with a less-protective classification that will increase exposure levels considered to be safe by 90-fold.
Read more.Endangered Species Protections Sought for Rare Nevada Butterfly
RENO, Nev.— The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to grant Endangered Species Act protection to an extremely rare butterfly called the bleached sandhill skipper.
Read more.‘Emergency’ Loophole Used to OK Highly Toxic Pesticide for 10th Straight Year
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency reported this week that it issued so-called “emergency” approvals to spray various neonicotinoids and pyrethroids — insecticides the agency itself recognizes as “very highly toxic” to bees and aquatic insects — on more than 370,000 acres of crops across the U.S.
Read more.Center for Biological Diversity Names Elise Bennett Florida Director
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— The Center for Biological Diversity announced today that Elise Bennett has been promoted to the position of Florida director.
Read more.Endangered Species Act Protection Sought for Southern Plains Bumblebee
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to grant Endangered Species Act protection to the highly imperiled Southern Plains bumblebee.
Read more.Tribunal de Colorado accede a considerar un desafío legal ante la falta del estado de proteger las vías fluviales y la vida silvestre de la contaminación de las granjas industriales
DENVER— La Oficina de Tribunales Administrativos de Colorado accedió a considerar un desafío legal por parte del Centro para la Diversidad Biológica y Food & Water Watch a un permiso estatal general de contaminación del agua para las Operaciones Concentradas de Alimentación Animal.
Read more.Colorado Court Agrees to Hear Legal Challenge to State’s Failure to Protect Waterways, Wildlife From Factory Farm Pollution
DENVER— The Colorado Office of Administrative Courts has agreed to hear a challenge by the Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch to a statewide general water-pollution permit for concentrated animal feeding operations.
Read more.EPA Finds New Insecticide Is Putting Over 100 Species in Jeopardy of Extinction
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency released a draft biological evaluation today showing that the bee-killing insecticide sulfoxaflor is potentially putting 24 species of insects in jeopardy of extinction, including Karner blue butterflies and American burying beetles.
Read more.Biden Administration Rejects Legal Petition to Phase Out Use of Toxic Agricultural Pesticides on National Wildlife Refuges
WASHINGTON— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today denied requests by conservationists and members of Congress to phase out the use of agricultural pesticides on national wildlife refuges.
Read more.Legal Victory: Court Orders New Endangered Species Review for Toxic Fungicide
SAN FRANCISCO— In a major win for conservationists and wildlife, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ordered the Environmental Protection Agency today to review the potential harm a toxic new fungicide poses to endangered species by June 2023.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Over EPA’s Authorization for Limitless Smog From Fracking in Denver, North Front Range Areas
DENVER— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Environmental Protection Agency today to force it to require Colorado to limit pollution from drilling and hydraulic fracturing for oil and methane gas in the Metro Denver area and the Denver Julesburg basin.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Fight EPA’s Delay in Reducing Harmful Soot Air Pollution
OAKLAND, Calif.— Environmental and public-health groups filed notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ensure that effective plans are in place to reduce dangerous soot air pollution in Los Angeles and Imperial County, California.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Fight EPA’s Delay in Smog Reduction in San Diego, Placer County, Ventura County, Colorado, North Dakota, Pennsylvania
OAKLAND, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health filed a notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ensure that effective smog-reduction plans are in place in four states.
Read more.Fisheries Service Finalizes Protections Against Three Pesticides Harming Salmon, Orcas
WASHINGTON— The National Marine Fisheries Service released a final biological opinion today establishing critical protections for salmon and Puget Sound orcas from exposure to three widely used insecticides — chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion.
Read more.EPA Confirms Three Widely Used Neonicotinoid Pesticides Likely Harm Vast Majority of Endangered Plants, Animals
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency released final biological evaluations today confirming that three widely used neonicotinoid insecticides likely harm roughly three-fourths of all endangered plants and animals, including all 39 species of amphibians protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Read more.Congress to Hold Wednesday Hearing on Seresto Flea Collars Linked to Deaths of Over 2,500 Pets
WASHINGTON— The House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy will hold a hearing on Wednesday to investigate the Seresto flea collar, which has been linked to thousands of pet deaths.
Read more.Legal Petition Aims to Phase Out Toxic Lead Ammo, Fishing Tackle on National Wildlife Refuges
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity, Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Sierra Club filed a formal legal petition today calling on the U.S. Department of the Interior to phase out the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on national wildlife refuges. Numerous scientific studies have linked lead ammunition to poisonings of wildlife and people.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Compel EPA to Enforce Smog-Reduction Measures in Los Angeles, Sacramento, New Hampshire
OAKLAND, Calif.— Environmental and public-health groups filed a lawsuit today against the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ensure that Los Angeles, Sacramento and New Hampshire have effective plans to reduce dangerous smog pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Federal Pesticide-Spraying Program Affecting Millions of Acres of Western Rangelands
WASHINGTON— The Xerces Society and Center for Biological Diversity sued the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today over its program allowing insecticide spraying on millions of acres in 17 western states.
Read more.Legal Petition Urges EPA to Require Commonsense Safeguards on Pesticide Labels to Protect Farmworkers, Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition for rulemaking to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs today to require new safeguards on pesticide labels. The new measures would be aimed at protecting people and endangered species. Pesticide labels and instructions must be followed properly for the use of a pesticide to be considered lawful.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Challenging USDA’s Failure to Protect Endangered Species From Insecticide Sprays Over Millions of Acres in U.S. West
WASHINGTON— The Xerces Society and Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent today to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s secretive Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for failing to properly consider harms to endangered species caused by insecticide spraying across millions of acres of western grasslands.
Read more.Federal Watchdog to Investigate EPA’s Inaction on Seresto Flea Collars
WASHINGTON— The Office of Inspector General for the Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it is investigating whether the agency violated federal law by failing to take action on the Seresto flea collar linked to thousands of pet deaths.
Read more.Lawsuit Aims to Protect Rare Parasitic Bumblebees That Play Critical Role in Keeping Other Bee Populations Diverse, Robust
TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today to force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether Suckley’s cuckoo bumblebees warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Read more.New Study Shows People of Color in U.S. Are More Likely to Be Harmed by Pesticides Due to Weak Regulations, Lax Enforcement
WASHINGTON— A peer-reviewed study published today in the academic journal BMC Public Health finds that Black, Indigenous and people of color, along with low-income communities, shoulder an outsized burden of the harms caused by pesticides in the United States.
Read more.Independent Scientific Review Panel: EPA’s Weakening of Groundwater Protections From Pesticides Is Not Justified
WASHINGTON— In a peer-review report released this week, an independent panel of scientists gave a scathing critique of recent changes made by the Environmental Protection Agency to weaken its estimates of pesticide pollution in U.S. groundwater.
Read more.Lawsuit Aims to Push EPA to Set New Limits on Soot, Sulfur, Nitrogen Pollution
OAKLAND, Calif.— Environmental groups filed a lawsuit today to force the Environmental Protection Agency to update limits on harmful soot, sulfur and nitrogen air pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Fight EPA Delay in Reducing Asthma-Causing Smog
WASHINGTON— Four environmental groups filed a lawsuit today to force the Environmental Protection Agency to downgrade the smog rating in eight areas from serious to severe. The downgrade in the ratings will trigger more protective measures to reduce pollution emissions
Read more.New Documents: EPA Managers Reportedly Instructed Staff Not to Document in Emails Concerns About Flea Collars Linked to Thousands of Pet Deaths
WASHINGTON— Scientists in the Environmental Protection Agency’s pesticide office were instructed to refrain from emailing about their growing concerns about the safety of flea collars linked to thousands of pet deaths, according to statements in emails released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed Against EPA to Protect Endangered Species From Cadmium Pollution
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today against the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to assess harms to endangered species before nearly tripling the levels of dangerous cadmium pollution that are allowed in U.S. waters.
Read more.Federal Court Rejects Weld County’s Request to Delay Reductions of Dangerous Smog Pollution From Oil, Gas Operations
DENVER— A federal appeals court has rejected Weld County’s attempt to delay steps to reduce pollution from the Colorado county’s oil and gas operations that contributes to asthma-causing smog in the Metro-Denver and Front Range region.
Read more.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Reverses Course, Asserts That Neurotoxic Pesticide Malathion Will Not Put a Single Protected Species At Risk of Extinction
WASHINGTON— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the widely used insecticide malathion does not pose an extinction risk to a single protected animal or plant and refused to implement any immediate, enforceable measures to protect species from the chemical poison.
Read more.National Marine Fisheries Service Analysis: Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon, Malathion Jeopardize Dozens of Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The National Marine Fisheries Service released a revised draft biological opinion today finding that three widely used insecticides — chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion — jeopardize the continued existence of dozens of endangered marine species, including salmon and Puget Sound orcas.
Read more.Grupos exhortan a juzgado mexicano fallar a favor de jóvenes indígenas mayas en amparo constitucional ante mega granja porcícola en Yucatán
CDMX, México— Grupos ambientalistas, científicos, médicos y expertos en salud pública presentaron hoy un informe legal que respalda las demandas constitucionales presentadas por jóvenes mayas, quienes se oponen a la aprobación y operación de una instalación industrial masiva de cerdos en tierras ecológicamente sensibles y culturalmente importantes en la península de Yucatán.
Read more.Mexican Court Urged to Rule for Indigenous Mayan Youth in Constitutional Challenge to Massive Industrial Hog Operation on Yucatán Peninsula
MEXICO CITY, Mexico— Conservation groups, scientists, doctors and public-health experts filed a legal brief today supporting constitutional claims raised by Mayan children who oppose approval and operation of a massive industrial hog farm on ecologically sensitive and culturally important lands in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Read more.Legal Petition Urges Biden Administration to Ban Toxic Agricultural Pesticides on National Wildlife Refuges
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety filed a legal petition today calling for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to end the use of dangerous agricultural pesticides on national wildlife refuges.
Read more.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sued for Refusing to Stop Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon From Killing Endangered Animals, Plants
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to push it to take action to stop endangered species from being harmed by the pesticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon, as required by the Endangered Species Act.
Read more.BASF to Stop Selling Pesticide Trifludimoxazin Rather Than Continue Litigation
SAN FRANCISCO— In response to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Food Safety and Center for Biological Diversity, chemical giant BASF has agreed to stop the manufacture and sale of the pesticide trifludimoxazin, according a court filing today.
Read more.New Report: More Than 200 Million Pounds of Pesticides in U.S. Are Applied to Crops Grown to Feed Animals on Factory Farms
NEW YORK— Hundreds of millions of pounds of toxic pesticides used in the United States are applied to corn and soy crops that are grown to feed factory farmed animals, according to a new report, Collateral Damage, released today by World Animal Protection, US and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Protect Suckley’s Cuckoo Bumblebees
OAKLAND, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice today of its intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect imperiled Suckley’s cuckoo bumblebees under the Endangered Species Act.
Read more.Variable Cuckoo Bumblebee Moves One Step Closer to Endangered Species Act Protection
WASHINGTON— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the variable cuckoo bumblebee, a critically imperiled species that has not been observed since 1999, may warrant Endangered Species Act protection. The announcement kicks off a one-year status assessment of the species.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Challenging EPA’s Failure to Update Air Pollution Emission Standards for Soot, Sulfur, Nitrogen
OAKLAND, Calif.— Environmental groups filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency to force it to update limits on soot, sulfur and nitrogen air pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Protect Health of Gadsden, Alabama Residents, Coosa River Wildlife From Chronic Sewage Overflows
GADSDEN, Ala.— Conservation and community groups sued the Water Works and Sewer Board of the city of Gadsden, Alabama today for neglecting its duty to maintain public sewers and not properly reporting on sewage pollution that it discharges, in violation of the Clean Water Act.
Read more.EPA to Consider ‘Emergency’ Use of Bee-Killing Pesticide Clothianidin on Florida Oranges for Ninth Straight Year
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it is considering granting “emergency” approval of a bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticide for use on as many as 125,000 acres of Florida citrus crops, including oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, lemons and limes.
Read more.Under Pressure From EPA, North Carolina Moves to Comply With Clean Air Act Requirement for Deciding on Permits in 18 Months
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— The North Carolina Division of Air Quality has proposed a rule requiring state regulators to issue decisions on air-pollution permits within 18 months, as required by the federal Clean Air Act.
Read more.EPA Reapproves Enlist One, Enlist Duo Pesticides With New Protections for Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency today issued seven-year reapprovals for both Enlist Duo and Enlist One for use on conventional and genetically engineered corn, cotton and soybeans.
Read more.EPA Proposes Reforms to Assess New Pesticides’ Harms to Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency’s pesticide office announced new policies today designed to address the agency’s multi-decade failure to assess harms to endangered species before approving new pesticides.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Challenging EPA’s Failure to Protect Endangered Species From Hundreds of Harmful Pyrethroid Pesticides
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice today of its intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for approving more than 300 pyrethroid insecticide products without considering their harm to endangered plants and animals.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Fight EPA Delay in Reducing Smog in 6 States With Some of Nation’s Worst Air Quality
WASHINGTON— Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit today to force the Environmental Protection Agency to require areas in six states to clean up harmful smog pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Failure to Obey Court Order to Protect Endangered Wildlife From Toxic Pesticide
WASHINGTON— Conservation groups filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing, over the past four years, to comply with a court order requiring it to protect endangered species from the toxic insecticide cyantraniliprole.
Read more.EPA to Be Sued for Failure to Protect Manatees From Water Pollution
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Three conservation groups issued a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to protect manatees from water pollution in Florida.
Read more.Court Urged to Overturn EPA Approval of Toxic New Pesticide Known to Harm Endangered Salmon, Sturgeon
SAN FRANCISCO— The Center for Food Safety and Center for Biological Diversity filed legal papers today seeking to strike down the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2021 approval of the pesticide trifludimoxazin, a potent herbicide approved nationwide for use in corn, soy and many other crops.
Read more.Historic Legislation Reintroduced in Congress to Ban Pesticides Dangerous to Children, Farmworkers
WASHINGTON— U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced historic legislation today to protect children and farmworkers by banning dangerous pesticides like paraquat, neonicotinoids and organophosphates.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Address Sewage Overflows in Alabama, Coosa River
GADSDEN, Ala.— Conservation and community groups filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the city of Gadsden, Alabama for years of Clean Water Act violations by the city’s wastewater-treatment system. The city’s failure to properly maintain its system has resulted in cracked sewer pipes, leaking manholes, blockages and pump-station failures.
Read more.EPA: Two Most Widely Used Pesticides Likely Harm Majority of Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that the endocrine-disrupting pesticide atrazine and cancer-linked pesticide glyphosate are each likely to harm more than 1,000 of the nation’s most endangered plants and animals.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Approval of Pennsylvania’s Flawed Plan for Reducing Asthma-Causing Smog From 8 Large Polluters
PHILADELPHIA— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of Pennsylvania’s plan to clean up smog from eight industrial polluters, including a fracked gas facility.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Reduce Air Pollution From Oil, Methane Gas Industries in Pennsylvania
PHILADELPHIA— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice today of its intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for approving Pennsylvania’s inadequate plan to clean up smog from the methane gas industry. The methane gas is mainly extracted using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Read more.Legal Petition Challenges EPA Inaction on Factory Farm Air Pollution
WASHINGTON— As President Biden continues to promise that his administration will address the climate crisis and protect the air we breathe from industrial polluters, 24 advocacy organizations are demanding his Environmental Protection Agency live up to that promise by doing more to protect communities from factory farms.
Read more.Court of Appeal Rejects California’s Blanket Approval of Pesticide Spraying
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— In a major victory for health and environmental groups, California’s Court of Appeal has ruled that a statewide pesticide-spraying program violates the law by failing to study and minimize the threats from pesticides and to properly inform the public about the risks of spraying.
Read more.Coalición internacional solicita a la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos que investigue las violaciones a derechos humanos de las mega fábricas de carne
WASHINGTON — Grupos indígenas y de derechos humanos, ambientalistas, personas científicas, médicas y expertas en salud pública solicitaron hoy a la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos que celebre una audiencia temática sobre los abusos de derechos humanos causados por las mega granjas o fábricas de carne, también conocidas como Operaciones Concentradas de Alimentación Animal, en toda América (incluyendo América del Norte y América del Sur).
Read more.International Coalition Petitions Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to Investigate Factory Farm Abuses
WASHINGTON— Indigenous and human-rights groups, conservationists, scientists, doctors and public-health experts petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights today to hold a formal hearing on human-rights abuses caused by factory farms, also known as industrial animal feeding operations, across North America and South America.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Failure to Protect Freshwater Endangered Species From Pesticides Applied Directly to Water
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity has sued the Environmental Protection Agency for issuing a Clean Water Act permit that fails to fully assess the risks posed to freshwater endangered species by pesticides applied directly to water.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Against Manatee County Over Proposal to Inject Toxic Waste From Piney Point Phosphogypsum Stack Into Aquifer
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Conservation groups sent a notice today of their intent to sue Manatee County for its plan to inject toxic pollutants from the Piney Point phosphogypsum stack into the lower Floridan aquifer.
Read more.American Bumblebee Takes Step Toward Endangered Species Act Protection
WASHINGTON— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the American bumblebee, whose populations have plummeted by nearly 90%, may warrant Endangered Species Act protection. The announcement kicks off a one-year status assessment of the species.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Fight EPA’s Delay in Reducing Smog Pollution in 10 Areas With Some of Nation’s Worst Air Quality
WASHINGTON— Two environmental groups filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to find that 10 areas recently designated as in “serious” nonattainment for the Clean Air Act’s ozone standards missed deadlines to evaluate and reduce ozone pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA Approval of Deadly Pesticide for 15 More Years
SAN FRANCISCO— Farmworker groups, environmentalists and health organizations represented by Earthjustice sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for approving the continued use of the deadly pesticide paraquat, which has been linked to Parkinson’s disease.
Read more.Mobile Billboard to Be Launched Friday in Atlanta to Spotlight Proposed Mine’s Threat to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
ATLANTA— A mobile video billboard urging Georgians to help save the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from a proposed mine will begin a three-day tour of Atlanta on Friday.
Read more.In Response to Lawsuit, EPA Pledges to Strengthen Standards for Slaughterhouse Water Pollution
WASHINGTON— In a victory for clean water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced late Wednesday that it will update water-pollution control standards for the slaughterhouse industry. The announcement follows a December 2019 lawsuit from community and conservation organizations challenging its prior decision not to do so.
Read more.EPA: Neonicotinoid Pesticides Harm Vast Majority of All Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— Three neonicotinoid insecticides likely harm all of the country’s 38 protected amphibians and roughly three fourths of all other endangered plants and animals, according to long-anticipated studies released today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Over EPA’s Delay in Fixing Colorado’s Plan to Reduce Smog, Acid Rain
DENVER— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for its delay in fixing Colorado’s flawed plan to protect people, wildlife and natural areas from smog and acid rain.
Read more.Challenge Filed Over Vermont’s Refusal to Protect Endangered Bats From Deadly Insecticide Spraying
MONTPELIER, Vt.— The Vermont Natural Resources Council and Center for Biological Diversity sued Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources today for refusing to require the Brandon-Leicester-Salisbury-Goshen-Pittsford Insect Control District to apply for permission to harm five threatened and endangered Vermont bat species.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Failure to Control Air Pollution From Industrial Agriculture in Arizona
PHOENIX— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to require Arizona to control air pollution from industrial agriculture via proper permitting across most of the state.
Read more.North Carolina Air Regulators Eliminate Restrictions on Harmful Coal Emissions From UNC-Chapel Hill Power Plant
ASHEVILLE, N.C.— The North Carolina Division of Air Quality has issued a new air-pollution permit for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s coal-fired power plant that eliminates crucial protections for local residents and the environment.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Reduce Asthma-Causing Sulfur Dioxide Air Pollution in Detroit, Baltimore
WASHINGTON— Three public health and conservation groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to ensure that parts of Maryland and Michigan have effective plans for cleaning up sulfur dioxide air pollution.
Read more.EPA Reapproves Pesticide Linked to Parkinson’s Disease
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency today reapproved paraquat, the most acutely lethal pesticide still in use.
Read more.Lawsuit Forces EPA to Reduce Dangerous Smog Affecting Millions in California, Colorado
WASHINGTON— In response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency committed today to steps that will ensure parts of California and Colorado have effective plans to reduce smog.
Read more.Gov. DeSantis Urged to Declare State of Emergency Due to Red Tide
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— More than two dozen local businesses and conservation groups today asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency due to the ongoing red tide and fish kills in and around Tampa Bay. The St. Petersburg city council and mayor also have requested that the governor declare a state of emergency to help coordinate and fund desperately needed cleanup efforts and mitigate the worsening red tide.
Read more.Groups Sue EPA Over Approval of Toxic Herbicide Citing Risks to Endangered Species, Drift Harms
SAN FRANCISCO— The Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit on Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of trifludimoxazin.
Read more.EPA Seeks Public Comments on Legal Petition to Cancel Seresto Flea Collars Linked to Deaths of Nearly 1,700 Pets
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it is opening a 60-day public comment period on a legal petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity seeking to cancel the registration of the Seresto flea and tick collar linked to the deaths of nearly 1,700 pets.
Read more.EPA Withdraws Disastrous Trump-Era Radioactive Roads Approval
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— The Biden administration announced it is withdrawing approval given by the Trump administration to use phosphogypsum in construction. The retracted approval had allowed the use of toxic, radioactive waste in constructing roads in parts of the United States prone to sinkholes and erosion.
Read more.Court Rejects USDA’s Attempt to Kill Lawsuit Challenging Weakened Pig-Slaughter Rules
ROCHESTER, N.Y.— A federal district court judge ruled today that a lawsuit challenging a 2019 decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to dramatically reduce federal oversight and eliminate line speed limits at pig slaughterhouses can move forward.
Read more.Lawsuit Forces EPA to Protect People in Seven States From Asthma-Causing Sulfur Dioxide Air Pollution
WASHINGTON— In response to a lawsuit filed by three environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency committed to important steps under the Clean Air Act to protect people from dangerous sulfur dioxide air pollution in seven states.
Read more.Gov. DeSantis, Florida Regulators Sued for Mismanaging Toxic Waste at Piney Point, Endangering Public, Environment
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Conservation groups filed a lawsuit today against Gov. Ron DeSantis, the acting secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, HRK Holdings, LLC and the Manatee County Port Authority for the release of hundreds of tons of hazardous pollutants into Tampa Bay and groundwater.
Read more.EPA Agrees to Ban Endocrine-Disrupting Pesticide Propazine
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency announced today it has reached an agreement to phase out the endocrine-disrupting pesticide propazine within one year.
Read more.Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump Administration’s Last-Minute Approval of Toxic Pesticide Banned in More Than 100 Countries
WASHINGTON— The federal Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia today rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the highly toxic pesticide aldicarb on Florida oranges and grapefruits.
Read more.Flea-Control Products Found to Be Infested With Forever Chemicals
WASHINGTON— Popular pet flea collars and treatments contain high levels of toxic PFAS chemicals, according to laboratory test results posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Read more.Florida Billboard Launched to Raise Awareness of Radioactive Toxic Waste
ARCADIA, Fla.— A new billboard message highlighting the risks phosphate mining and phosphogypsum pose to communities, water and the environment has been installed along State Route 70 in DeSoto County. The 36-foot-wide billboard directs motorists to www.RadioactiveFlorida.org.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA Delay in Reducing Air Pollution From Oil, Methane Gas Industries in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia
WASHINGTON— Two environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to ensure that adequate plans are in place to control pollution from the oil and methane gas industry in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, home to almost 35 million people.
Read more.EPA Watchdog Report: Senior Staffers in Trump EPA Changed, Omitted Science During 2018 Review of Dicamba; Skipped Internal Peer-Review Process
WASHINGTON— A scathing report released today by a federal oversight agency revealed that high-ranking officials in the Trump Environmental Protection Agency purposely excluded scientific evidence of dicamba’s drift risks before reapproving its use in 2018.
Read more.Legal Petition Urges EPA to Assess Pesticides’ Harms to Soil Health
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth U.S. filed a formal legal petition today urging the Environmental Protection Agency to incorporate a robust assessment of harm to soil ecosystems in pesticide regulatory decisions.
Read more.As New Algae Bloom Spreads Across Lake Okeechobee, Florida Urged to Set Standards Critical to Protecting People, Wildlife From Harmful Toxins
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.― Conservation groups sent a letter today urging Florida officials to set water-quality standards for the harmful toxins in algal blooms that threaten the health of the state’s residents and wildlife.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Reduce Asthma-Causing Sulfur Dioxide Air Pollution in Detroit, Baltimore
WASHINGTON— Three conservation groups filed notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ensure that parts of Maryland and Michigan have effective plans for cleaning up sulfur dioxide air pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Against Florida Department of Environmental Protection, HRK Holdings, Manatee County Port Authority Over Piney Point Disaster
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Conservation groups sent a notice today of their intent to sue the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, HRK Holdings and the Manatee County Port Authority for releasing hundreds of tons of toxic pollutants into Tampa Bay and groundwater, endangering the public, marine ecosystems and protected species.
Read more.UN Report: Methane Cuts Are Critical to Confronting Climate Emergency
WASHINGTON— Slashing emissions from methane, including from the fossil fuel industry, is far more critical than previously thought to avoid the worst effects of climate change, according to a United Nations report released today.
Read more.Expertos en salud pública y conservacionistas piden al Tribunal Supremo de México que defienda la suspensión de la operación de una granja de 49 mil cerdos en la península de Yucatán
CDMX, México— Grupos conservacionistas, científicos, médicos y expertos en salud pública presentaron hoy un escrito legal en la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación de México apoyando los reclamos constitucionales planteados por niñas y niños mayas, que se oponen a la aprobación y operación de una granja industrial de animales en la Península de Yucatán.
Read more.Public Health Experts, Conservationists Ask Mexico’s Highest Court to Uphold Suspension of 49,000-Hog Industrial Animal Operation in Yucatán Peninsula
MEXICO CITY, Mexico— Conservation groups, scientists, doctors and public-health experts filed a legal brief with Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation today supporting constitutional claims raised by Mayan children who oppose approval and operation of an industrial animal operation in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Read more.New Study: Agricultural Pesticides Cause Widespread Harm to Soil Health, Threaten Biodiversity
WASHINGTON— A new study published today by the academic journal Frontiers in Environmental Science finds that pesticides widely used in American agriculture pose a grave threat to organisms that are critical to healthy soil, biodiversity and soil carbon sequestration to fight climate change. Yet those harms are not considered by U.S. regulators.
Read more.100-Plus Groups Demand Actions Critical to Protecting Endangered Species, Wildlife Refuges From Toxic Pesticides
WASHINGTON— More than 100 groups sent three letters to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today outlining urgent actions needed to protect the nation’s wildlife and their habitats from dangerous pesticides.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Approval of Southeast Idaho Phosphate Mine
BOISE, Idaho— Conservation groups filed a lawsuit today challenging a decision made by the Trump administration to greenlight the Caldwell Canyon phosphate mine in southeast Idaho.
Read more.Endangered Species Act Protection Sought for Variable Cuckoo Bumblebee
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to grant Endangered Species Act protection to the critically endangered variable cuckoo bumblebee.
Read more.North Carolina Air Regulators Propose to Eliminate Restrictions on Harmful Coal Emissions From UNC-Chapel Hill Power Plant
ASHEVILLE, N.C.— The North Carolina Division of Air Quality has proposed a new air-pollution permit for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s coal-fired power plant that eliminates crucial protections for local residents and the environment.
Read more.Federal Analysis Finds Insecticide Malathion Imperils Continued Existence of 78 Endangered Plants, Animals
WASHINGTON— A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service analysis released today has found that the commonly used insecticide malathion jeopardizes the continued existence of 78 endangered plants and animals.
Read more.New Study: Undisclosed Inert Ingredients in Some Popular Roundup Products Found to Be Highly Toxic to Bumblebees
PORTLAND, Ore.— Popular herbicide products widely available at hardware and garden stores contain undisclosed “inert” ingredients that can kill bumblebees, according to a new study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Refusal to Release Public Documents on Seresto Flea Collar Linked to Deaths of Nearly 1,700 Pets
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to release documents regarding the Seresto flea and tick collar, which has generated more than 75,000 reports of harm ranging from skin irritation to death of pets.
Read more.Congress Urged to Investigate Huge Wastewater Release, Threat of Catastrophic Collapse of Florida’s Piney Point Phosphogypsum Stack
WASHINGTON— Conservation and public-health groups called on Congress today to investigate the near-collapse of the radioactive Piney Point phosphogypsum stack and the ongoing emergency caused by the discharge of hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater.
Read more.Hike, Rally to Save Everglades’ Big Cypress Set for Saturday
BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE, Fla.— At 9 a.m. on Saturday conservation advocates Betty Osceola and the Rev. Houston Cypress will lead environmental leaders and the media on a socially distanced hike in Big Cypress National Preserve along the route of a proposed oil well pad access road.
Read more.Legal Petition Calls On EPA to Cancel Seresto Flea Collar Linked to Deaths of Nearly 1,700 Pets
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal legal petition today urging the Environmental Protection Agency to cancel the registration of the Seresto flea and tick collar linked to the deaths of nearly 1,700 pets.
Read more.Instan a funcionarios mexicanos a responder a los reclamos de comunidades mayas por las violaciones a sus derechos soberanos por la construcción de granjas industriales porcinas en la península de Yucatán
LA PAZ, México— El Centro para la Diversidad Biológica y Greenpeace México presentaron una solicitud formal instando al gobierno mexicano a respetar el derecho soberano de las comunidades Indígenas, según la ley mexicana, a los derechos humanos básicos, incluida la autodeterminación y la consulta sobre la concesión de permisos y el funcionamiento de las granjas industriales en expansión en los estados de Yucatán, Campeche y Quintana Roo, así como atender la solicitud de los pueblos mayas de una moratoria sobre todas las aprobaciones de nuevas de granjas industriales porcinas y ampliaciones hasta que se resuelvan los problemas de los derechos del pueblo maya y el daño a la calidad del aire y el agua, la biodiversidad y la salud humana.
Read more.Mexican Officials Urged to Address Violations of Mayan Sovereign Rights Caused by Construction of Industrial Pig Farms in Yucatán Peninsula
LA PAZ, Mexico— The Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace Mexico submitted a formal request today urging the Mexican government to respect the sovereign right of Indigenous communities under Mexican law and to basic human rights, including self-determination and consultation, on the permitting and operation of industrial pig farms in the states of Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Failure to Reduce Smog Pollution From Oil, Methane Gas Industries in California, Chicago
WASHINGTON— Two environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to require adequate smog controls for the oil and methane gas industry in the Metro Chicago area and five parts of California. Many of these areas, which together are home to more than 26 million people, already have some of the worst air quality in the country.
Read more.400 Groups Petition EPA to Control Methane, Ethane Pollution
WASHINGTON— More than 400 groups, representing tens of millions of people, petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency today to control harmful methane and ethane emissions that are the largest industrial source of compounds causing ozone pollution, also known as smog.
Read more.Imminent Failure of Phosphogypsum Stack in Tampa Bay Exposes Phosphate Industry Risks
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Manatee County officials have issued evacuation orders for the area surrounding Florida’s Piney Point in anticipation of the imminent catastrophic collapse of a phosphogypsum stack retention pond holding up to 700 million gallons of wastewater.
Read more.WHO Report: Wildlife Exploitation Likely Caused COVID-19 Pandemic
GENEVA— The SARS-CoV-2 virus likely originated from human exploitation of wildlife, according to today’s findings from a World Health Organization-led investigation.
Read more.More Than 100 Conservation Groups, Businesses Urge Interior’s Haaland to Reject Oil-drilling in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve
WASHINGTON— More than 100 conservation groups and businesses urged the U.S. Department of the Interior today to deny requests to drill for oil in Big Cypress National Preserve. The preserve, which is part of the greater Everglades region and a unit of the National Park System, provides vital habitat for endangered Florida panthers and Florida bonneted bats.
Read more.New Federal Study: Extremely Toxic Pesticide Breakdown Products Found in 90% of Streams Sampled Across U.S.
PORTLAND, Ore.— Pesticides and their highly toxic, long-lived breakdown products were found in 90% of the 442 U.S. streams sampled by federal scientists, according to a new study published this week by a journal of the American Chemical Society.
Read more.Demanda impugna la aprobación de la EPA sobre el uso de antibióticos de importancia médica como plaguicida en cultivos de cítricos
WASHINGTON— Una coalición de grupos de interés público, incluidos trabajadores agrícolas, organizaciones de conservación y justicia de la salud, demandó hoy a la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA por sus siglas en inglés) por aprobar la fumigación generalizada de estreptomicina, un antibiótico de importancia médica, en árboles de cítricos para prevenir o tratar la enfermedad del enverdecimiento de los cítricos o cancro de los cítricos.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA Approval of Use of Medically Important Antibiotic as Pesticide on Citrus Crops
WASHINGTON— A coalition of public-interest groups, including farmworker, health-justice and conservation organizations, sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for approving widespread spraying of streptomycin, a medically important antibiotic, on citrus trees to prevent or treat citrus greening disease or citrus canker.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Colorado’s Rubber-stamping of Air Pollution Permits for Oil, Fracked Gas Wells
DENVER— Conservation groups sued the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division today for issuing an air-pollution permit that will potentially allow thousands of new oil and fracked gas wells throughout the state.
Read more.Facebook Live Workshop on Radioactive Phosphogypsum Pollution March 8
TAMPA, Fla.— Conservation, public-health and faith-based community groups will host an online workshop at 8 p.m. EST on Monday, March 8 to share information about how radioactive phosphogypsum waste threatens their communities and how people can collectively fight back.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Eleventh-hour Approval of Dangerous Pesticide Banned in More Than 100 Countries
WASHINGTON— Public-interest groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today over its rushed decision in the final days of the Trump administration to reapprove previously cancelled uses of the dangerous pesticide aldicarb on Florida oranges and grapefruits.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Protect Endangered Wildlife, Plants From Dangerous Smog
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to assess harms to endangered plants and animals when determining the national air pollution standard for smog.
Read more.Center for Biological Diversity Endorses Oregon Bill to End Mink Farming, Compensate State's Few Remaining Producers
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity has endorsed a bill by Oregon state Sen. Floyd Prozanski to phase out mink farming in the state by the end of the year. The legislation, Senate Bill 832, follows similar actions taken by Ireland and the Netherlands to permanently close all mink farms and discontinue mink-breeding programs in order to protect public health against the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases. A report published in Science in January determined that the virus is transmissible between mink and humans. If lawmakers adopted this bill, Oregon would lead the nation by being the first state to adopt a prohibition on mink farming, joining other nations that have banned the practice.
Read more.Opening Brief Filed in Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration’s Expansion of Bee-killing Insecticide Sulfoxaflor
SAN FRANCISCO— The Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity filed the opening brief yesterday in their lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the pollinator-killing insecticide sulfoxaflor.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Fight EPA Approval of Pennsylvania’s Flawed, Outdated Plan for Reducing Dangerous Air Pollution From Oil, Methane Gas Industries
PHILADELPHIA— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of Pennsylvania’s inadequate, outdated plan to clean up smog from the methane gas industry.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Fight EPA’s Delay in Reducing Air Pollution From Oil, Methane Gas Industries in Six States
WASHINGTON— Two conservation groups filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ensure that adequate plans are in place to control air pollution from the oil and methane gas industry in six states.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Fight EPA’s Delay in Ensuring Smog Reduction in California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Hampshire
OAKLAND, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health filed a legal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ensure that numerous major metropolitan regions have effective plans to reduce dangerous smog pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Protect Endangered Wildlife, Plants From Dangerous Soot
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s failure to assess harm to endangered plants and animals when determining the national air pollution standard for soot.
Read more.Endangered Species Act Protection Sought for American Bumblebee
WASHINGTON— Conservation groups petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to grant Endangered Species Act protection to the American bumblebee.
Read more.Oregon Officials Petitioned to Add Farmed Mink to State Prohibited Species List
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a rulemaking petition today asking the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to add mink to the state’s prohibited species list.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Fight Trump EPA’s Delay in Reducing Air Pollution From Oil, Methane Gas Industries in California, Chicago
WASHINGTON— Two conservation groups filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to require adequate pollution controls for the oil and methane gas industry in Chicago and six areas of California — together home to more than 26 million people. Many of these areas already have some of the worst air quality in the country.
Read more.Trump EPA Approves Treating Citrus With Dangerous Pesticide Banned in More Than 100 Nations, Medically Important Antibiotic
WASHINGTON—The Environmental Protection Agency has approved use of the dangerous, previously-cancelled pesticide aldicarb and the medically important antibiotic streptomycin on citrus.
Read more.Federal Court Rejects Bid by EPA, Pesticide Industry to Keep Bee-killing Pesticide Sulfoxaflor on Market Despite Risks to Endangered Species
SAN FRANCISCO— The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s request to allow farmers to continue using the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor while the agency assessed the pesticide’s harm to endangered species.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Colorado’s Rubber-stamping of Air Pollution Permits for Oil, Fracked Gas Wells
DENVER— Conservation and social-justice groups sued the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division today for issuing an air-pollution permit that will potentially allow thousands of oil and fracked gas wells throughout the state.
Read more.Court Orders Trump’s EPA to Redo Approval of Colorado’s Flawed Plan to Reduce Smog, Acid Rain
DENVER— A federal appeals court today ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to redo its approval of Colorado’s flawed plan to protect people and the state’s treasured natural areas from smog and acid rain.
Read more.New California Law Protecting Animals From Super-toxic Rat Poisons Takes Effect in 2021
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Increased safeguards to protect California’s native wildlife and domestic animals from super-toxic rat poisons will begin on January 1, 2021. The California Ecosystems Protection Act (A.B. 1788) places important restrictions on the use of super-toxic rodenticides, known as second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, to protect the state’s animals.
Read more.Colorado Officials Admit State’s Smog-reduction Plan Already Failed to Protect Colorado From Deadly Pollution, Then Approve It Anyway
DENVER— The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission has approved a plan that was supposed to reduce smog in the North Front Range by this past summer, even though state officials knew the plan had already failed to deliver the required pollution reductions.
Read more.Farmers, Conservation Groups Challenge EPA’s Unlawful Re-approval of Dangerous, Drift-Prone Dicamba Pesticide
SAN FRANCISCO-- Four public interest groups filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s rushed re-approval of products containing the dangerous, drift-prone dicamba pesticide.
Read more.Inspector General Urged to Reopen Investigation Into Secretary Bernhardt’s Role in Delaying Protections for Endangered Species From Pesticides
WASHINGTON— Citing newly obtained documents revealing that the White House worked with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to stall protections for 1,400 endangered species from pesticides, the Center for Biological Diversity today requested that the Inspector General reopen a 2019 investigation into whether the delays were appropriate.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Trump EPA’s Approval of Radioactive Roads
WASHINGTON— Environmental, public health and union groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for approving the use of radioactive phosphogypsum in roads. The groups also petitioned the agency to reconsider its Oct. 20 approval.
Read more.In Gift to Frackers, Gov. Polis Refuses to Push for Speedier Smog Protections
DENVER— Gov. Jared Polis has announced he will not urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to act swiftly to protect the Denver Metro/North Front Range area by raising the smog protection level from serious to severe.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Protect Habitat for Critically Endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebee
WASHINGTON— NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas today issued a formal notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for refusing to designate critical habitat for the highly endangered rusty patched bumblebee.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Against EPA to Protect Endangered Aquatic Species From Cadmium Pollution
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice today of its intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to assess harms to endangered species before nearly tripling the levels of dangerous cadmium pollution that are allowed in U.S. waters.
Read more.EPA to Consider Reapproving Previously Banned Use of Extremely Toxic Pesticide Aldicarb on Citrus Trees in Florida, Texas
WASHINGTON— In what will likely be the first major pesticide decision under the Biden Environmental Protection Agency, the agency will consider allowing use of the dangerous, previously cancelled pesticide aldicarb on citrus trees in Florida and Texas.
Read more.Legal Appeal Filed to Block Massive Expansion of Colorado’s Colowyo Coal Mine
DENVER— Conservation groups filed an appeal today of a district court ruling allowing an approximately 2,000-acre expansion of the Colowyo coal mine in northwestern Colorado.
Read more.Legal Filing Challenges EPA, Pesticide Industry Push to Keep Bee-killing Pesticide on Market
SAN FRANCISCO— The Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity filed an opposition brief late Monday in their ongoing litigation challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor.
Read more.Oregon Officials Urged to Stop Withholding Information Critical to Protecting Public Health After COVID-19 Outbreak at Oregon Mink Operation
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity has sent a letter to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Health Authority urging the release of information on a November outbreak of COVID-19 at a 12,000-animal mink-fur farming operation in Oregon.
Read more.EPA Finds Glyphosate Is Likely to Injure or Kill 93% of Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency released a draft biological evaluation today finding that glyphosate is likely to injure or kill 93% of the plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Read more.EPA Petitioned to Rescind Industry-friendly Guidance Document That OKs Ignoring Pesticides’ Harms to Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency today to withdraw a 2004 guidance document that allows the agency to ignore pesticides’ harms to the nation’s most endangered animals and plants.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Fight EPA’s Delay in Ensuring Smog-reduction in California, Colorado
OAKLAND, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ensure that parts of California and Colorado have effective plans to reduce dangerous smog pollution.
Read more.Oregon Officials Urged to Investigate Risks of COVID-19 Outbreaks, Potential Mutations at Mink Farms
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Center for Biological Diversity sent a letter today urging the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Oregon Health Authority to investigate the threat of COVID-19 outbreaks and viral mutations at the state’s mink-fur farming operations.
Read more.EPA: Widely Used Pesticide Atrazine Likely Harms More Than 1,000 Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency released an assessment today finding that the endocrine-disrupting pesticide atrazine is likely to harm more than 1,000 of the nation’s most endangered plants and animals.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA Rollback of Limits on Toxic Water Pollution From Power Plants
WASHINGTON— Nine conservation groups representing millions of people sued the Environmental Protection Agency today over its decision to drastically weaken national standards limiting toxic water pollution, including arsenic and selenium, from coal-fired power plants.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA Reapproval of Endocrine-disrupting Pesticide Atrazine
WASHINGTON— Public-interest groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today over its decision to reapprove atrazine, an endocrine-disrupting herbicide banned across much of the world.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed Against EPA to Protect People in Seven States From Asthma-causing Sulfur Dioxide Air Pollution
WASHINGTON— Three conservation groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to meet congressionally mandated deadlines for enforcing reductions in dangerous sulfur dioxide air pollution, which is largely caused by burning fossil fuels.
Read more.EPA Reapproves Dangerous, Drift-prone Dicamba Pesticides Recently Banned by Federal Court for Causing Widespread Economic Harm to Farmers
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency announced today the reapproval of three products containing the drift-prone, herbicide dicamba for use on Monsanto’s genetically engineered, dicamba-resistant soybeans and cotton.
Read more.Lawsuit Filed to Protect Endangered Wildlife From Dangerous New Fungicide
SAN FRANCISCO— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of a toxic new fungicide without fully addressing its lethal effects on endangered wildlife.
Read more.EPA Reapproves Dozens of Ultra-toxic Pesticides
WASHINGTON—The Environmental Protection Agency reapproved dozens of toxic pesticides today that are known to cause serious harm to people, wildlife and the environment.
Read more.Court Denies UNC’s Request to Dismiss Claims That University’s Power Plant Burned More Coal Than Permitted
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— A federal district court judge has denied a motion by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to dismiss claims that its power plant burned more coal than permitted.
Read more.Youth Leader Nalleli Cobo Honored With Rose Braz Award for Bold Activism
LOS ANGELES— The Center for Biological Diversity has awarded the 2020 “Rose Braz Award for Bold Activism” to Nalleli Cobo.
Read more.EPA Agrees to Crack Down on Smog From Oil, Fracked Gas in Eight States
SAN FRANCISCO— A federal court has approved an agreement between conservation groups and the Environmental Protection Agency requiring the agency to ensure reductions in asthma-causing smog from oil and fracked gas extraction across portions of eight states.
Read more.Lawsuit Forces EPA to Jump-start Work to Clean Up Sulfur Dioxide Air Pollution in Indiana, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Guam
WASHINGTON— In response to a lawsuit filed by three conservation groups, the Environmental Protection Agency announced today it will ensure that parts of Indiana, Louisiana, Puerto Rico and Guam have plans for cleaning up asthma-causing sulfur dioxide air pollution.
Read more.Gov. Newsom Signs Bill Protecting Wild Animals from Super-toxic Rat Poisons
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the California Ecosystems Protection Act (AB 1788) into law today, placing greater restrictions — with limited exceptions — on the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides to protect the state’s native wildlife.
Read more.Documents: Powerful Pro-pesticide Groups Shaped U.S. Push to Weaken International Oversight of Medically Important Antibiotics
WASHINGTON— U.S. efforts to weaken international guidelines on the use of medically important antibiotics in food production were heavily influenced by powerful agribusiness trade groups like CropLife America that advocate for use of antibiotics as pesticides, according to public records obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Read more.Advocates Demand Regulation of Toxic Neonic-treated Seeds
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— A group of health and environmental organizations filed a legal petition today calling upon the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to regulate the planting of crop seeds coated with neurotoxic neonicotinoid insecticides (neonics) and close a loophole that allows the unchecked use of neonic-treated seeds in California’s farms. The petition follows a scientific report released today finding these seeds may result in the use of over half a million pounds of unregulated pesticides per year in the state.
Read more.Endocrine-disrupting Pesticide Atrazine to Be Banned in Hawaii, Five U.S. Territories, Prohibited on Conifers, Roadsides
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency has announced that the endocrine-disrupting pesticide atrazine will be banned in Hawaii and in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the North Mariana Islands.
Read more.EPA Scraps Protections for Children From Pesticide Linked to Birth Defects, Cancer
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency reapproved the pesticide atrazine today, an endocrine-disrupting herbicide banned across much of the world that castrates frogs and is linked to birth defects and cancer in people.
Read more.Administration Sued for Records Detailing U.S. Role on Behalf of Glyphosate-maker Bayer in Pressuring Thailand to Reverse Plan to Ban Pesticide
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the administration for public records detailing the U.S. government’s efforts on behalf of Bayer, the maker of the herbicide glyphosate, to convince Thailand last year to reverse its planned ban of the cancer-linked chemical.
Read more.Thousands of Californians Call on Governor to Sign Bill That Protects Wildlife From Toxic Rat Poisons
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Conservation groups delivered more than 10,000 California signatures to Gov. Gavin Newsom today asking him to sign a bill that would ban highly toxic rodenticides until state agencies develop common-sense safeguards to protect wildlife from the dangerous, long-lasting poisons.
Read more.Congress Urged to Provide Immediate Pandemic Relief to U.S Food, Farm, Fish Systems
WASHINGTON— While the U.S. Senate was out on recess, a broad coalition of over 160 organizations warned in a letter addressed to congressional leaders of dire consequences for the American food, farm, and fish systems — and the historically underserved communities that make them work — unless Congress acts now to provide immediate pandemic relief.
Read more.California Legislature Passes Bill to Protect Wildlife From Super-toxic Rat Poisons
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— The California legislature has passed a bill that would place a moratorium on super-toxic rodenticides until state agencies can develop better safeguards to protect wildlife from the dangerous, long-lasting poisons.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Challenging EPA Decision to Dismiss Pesticides’ Harms to Endangered Species
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice of intent to sue today over the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Revised Methods” for assessing pesticide risks to endangered species.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Delay in Ensuring That Rules to Reduce Smog Are in Place for California, Colorado
OAKLAND, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to ensure that parts of California and Colorado have effective plans to reduce dangerous smog pollution.
Read more.Emergency Legal Petition Filed With USDA to End Cruel Farm ‘Depopulation’ Methods
WASHINGTON— A coalition led by the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed an emergency petition today with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prevent COVID-19 relief funds, resources and any other forms of support from facilitating or compensating for the costs of ventilation shutdown or water-based foam “depopulation” — the mass killing of animals on factory farms. It also asks the agency to withhold COVID-19 relief funds, resources, and any other forms of support from integrators, processors, and meatpackers that order or permit ventilation shutdown or water-based foam depopulation.
Read more.Analysis: National Wildlife Refuges Hit With 34% Increase in Acreage Sprayed With Agricultural Pesticides Over Two-year Period
WASHINGTON— More than 350,000 pounds of dangerous agricultural pesticides were sprayed on more than 363,000 acres of crops on America’s national wildlife refuges in 2018, a 34% increase over the acreage sprayed in 2016, according to a new Center for Biological Diversity analysis released today.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Failure to Clean Up Ventura County Smog
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif.— Conservation groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to require reductions of asthma-causing smog pollution in California’s Ventura County, which is home to more than 850,000 people.
Read more.Legal Petition Urges U.S. Forest Service to Protect Native Bees, Stop Rubber-stamping Commercial Beehives on Federal Lands
WASHINGTON— Conservation groups filed a formal legal petition today urging the U.S. Forest Service to stop allowing the placement of hundreds of commercial honeybee hives on national forest lands without proper environmental review.
Read more.New Air Pollution Violation Revealed at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Coal Plant
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club today filed an amended complaint highlighting a previously undisclosed violation of the Clean Air Act by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s coal-fired power plant.
Read more.Federal Court Holds Dicamba Pesticide Unlawful, Citing Unprecedented Drift Damage to Millions of Acres
SAN FRANCISCO– The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit today ruled that the Trump administration wrongly approved Monsanto’s pesticide dicamba for use on genetically engineered soy and cotton – a decision that makes the sale and use of the pesticide illegal.
Read more.National Institutes of Health Study Links Dicamba, Increased Cancer Risks
WASHINGTON— Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found that use of the pesticide dicamba can increase the risk of developing numerous cancers, including liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancers, acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and mantle cell lymphoma.
Read more.Washington Enacts Law to Protect Rivers, Endangered Salmon From Suction Dredge Mining
OLYMPIA, Wash.— Gov. Jay Inslee has signed into law a bill prohibiting suction dredge mining in rivers and streams that provide important habitat for endangered salmon, steelhead and bull trout.
Read more.Trump Administration Slashes Protections for Millions of Acres of Streams, Wetlands
WASHINGTON— The Trump administration finalized a plan today to slash Clean Water Act protections for streams, rivers and millions of acres of wetlands, allowing those water bodies to be destroyed or polluted without any meaningful restrictions.
Read more.Louisiana Issues Air-pollution Permits for Formosa Plastics Plant
ST. JAMES PARISH, La.— The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality today issued air-pollution permits for a massive petrochemical complex that Formosa Plastics wants to build in St. James Parish, Louisiana.
Read more.Center for Biological Diversity Endorses Impossible, Beyond Burgers
TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity today released a statement of support for plant-based meats, including the Impossible and Beyond burgers.
Read more.National Coalition to Announce Legal Challenge to Plastic Plant Pollution at San Francisco EPA Office
SAN FRANCISCO― More than 350 community and conservation organizations from around the country will announce a major new legal challenge to pollution from industrial plants that create plastic tomorrow in San Francisco.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Against Trump’s EPA for Failing to Enforce Smog Rules in California
OAKLAND, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ensure that parts of California have effective plans to reduce dangerous smog pollution.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched Over Trump Administration’s Failure to Recognize Plastic Pollution in Hawaiian Waters
HONOLULU—The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice today of its intent to sue the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency for failing to protect Hawaiian waters contaminated by plastic pollution.
Read more.Court Rejects Trump Administration Efforts to Avoid Curbing Risks From Dangerous Pesticide Malathion
OAKLAND, Calif.— A federal district court in Oakland today rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the failure of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect endangered wildlife and the environment from the dangerous pesticide malathion.
Read more.Trump EPA’s Paraquat Review Ignores Strong Links to Parkinson’s Disease
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency today released two scientific analyses of paraquat that detail the weed killer’s lethal risks to humans and wildlife but discount its strong links to Parkinson’s disease.
Read more.Formosa Plastics Settles Texas Pollution Case for $50 Million, No More Plastic Releases
VICTORIA, Texas— Formosa Plastics today settled a Clean Water Act lawsuit brought by a former shrimper and San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper challenging its extensive plastic pollution of waterways around its Point Comfort, Texas plant. Under the $50 million settlement, Formosa is paying for pollution cleanup and promises no future discharges of plastic pellets or other plastic materials from the plant.
Read more.Colorado Slaughterhouse Warned of Lawsuit After Clean Air Act Violations
DENVER— The Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch today sent a formal notice of their intent to sue JBS USA and the JBS-Swift Beef Company for Clean Air Act violations at its Greeley Beef Plant.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Approval of Bee-killing Pesticide, GE Crop Uses on National Wildlife Refuges
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety sued the Trump administration today for approving the use of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides and pesticide-intensive genetically engineered crops on national wildlife refuges.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Protect Students, Chapel Hill-Carrboro from UNC’s Coal Plant Pollution
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for violations of the Clean Air Act.
Read more.Agreement Reached to Protect Community, Wildlife From Southern California Warehouse Project
FONTANA, Calif.— Conservation groups and UST-CB Partners, a development company, reached an agreement today over a controversial warehouse project in the Southern California city of Fontana that threatened local communities and wildlife habitat.
Read more.Formosa Plastics’ Proposed Louisiana Plant Gets Permit to Destroy Wetlands
ST. JAMES PARISH, La.— The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a Clean Water Act permit for Formosa Plastics’ massive proposed plastic plant in St. James Parish, La. This federal permit authorizes the company to dredge and fill sensitive wetlands along the Mississippi River.
Read more.Trump’s EPA Proposes to Keep Ignoring Harmful, Increased Toxicities of Pesticide Combinations
WASHINGTON— The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued proposed guidelines today to allow the agency to continue ignoring the heightened toxic effects on plants, bees and other wildlife when pesticides are mixed.
Read more.Farmers, Conservationists Challenge Approval of Monsanto’s Crop-damaging Dicamba Pesticide
WASHINGTON— Four public-interest organizations representing farmers and conservationists have made their legal case in a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Monsanto. The opening brief, filed late Tuesday, challenges the approval of a pesticide that was designed to be sprayed on soybeans and cotton crops genetically engineered by Monsanto to tolerate being sprayed with dicamba.
Read more.Trump Visit to Plastic Plant Ignores Pollution Crisis, Outdated Federal Rules
MONACA, Pa.― President Donald Trump’s visit today to a massive plastics plant being built in Pennsylvania by Royal Dutch Shell ignores the plastic pollution and toxic chemicals such plants are allowed to release under decades-old federal regulations. Local groups protested today’s visit and the petrochemical industry’s plan to increase U.S. plastic production using the oversupply of fracked natural gas.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Trump EPA’s Failure to Protect California’s Ventura County From Deadly Smog
VENTURA, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health filed a lawsuit today against the Trump administration for failing to finalize plans to curtail dangerous smog in Ventura County, Calif.
Read more.Trump Administration Ends Long-standing Safeguards Protecting Kids from Dangerous Class of Pesticides
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it will end long-running safeguards meant to protect children from harmful pesticide ingredients used in bug sprays, pet shampoos and on fruits and vegetables.
Read more.Legal Petition Seeks Ban on Plastic Pollution From Petrochemical Plants
WASHINGTON― More than 270 community and conservation organizations filed a legal petition today that demands the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopt strict new water-pollution limits for industrial plants that create plastic.
Read more.Congresswoman Velázquez Introduces Bill to Ban Pesticide Linked to Parkinson’s
WASHINGTON— U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) has introduced legislation to ban paraquat, an extremely toxic herbicide that has been shown to more than double the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in farmworkers and others suffering occupational exposure.
Read more.Louisiana to Hold Hearing on Massive Formosa Plastics Toxic Chemical Complex
ST. JAMES PARISH, La.— Louisiana will hold a public hearing on issuing 15 air permits for Taiwanese company Formosa Plastics. The massive proposed complex would be one of the largest and most toxic plastic production facilities in the world.
Read more.Public-interest Groups Launch Legal Action to Protect Waterways From Slaughterhouse Pollution
WASHINGTON— Conservation groups today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to update slaughterhouse wastewater guidelines as required by the Clean Water Act.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Decision to Exempt Factory Farms From Reporting Hazardous Air Pollution
WASHINGTON— Community and conservation groups sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today for overstepping its authority in exempting factory farms from pollution-reporting requirements essential to public safety, environmental health and animal welfare.
Read more.Federal Court Rules Formosa Plastics Is Liable for Plastic Pollution in Texas
VICTORIA, Texas— A federal judge in Texas on Thursday found Formosa Plastics liable for polluting Texas waterways with billions of plastic pellets from its plant in Point Comfort. The Taiwanese company is currently seeking permits to build an even larger plastic-making plant along the Mississippi River in St. James Parish, La., a project strongly opposed by local residents and national conservation groups.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Constitutionality of Arkansas Ag-Gag Law
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— The Animal Legal Defense Fund, Animal Equality, Center for Biological Diversity and Food Chain Workers Alliance filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas challenging the constitutionality of the state’s “ag-gag” law. The law prohibits undercover investigations that expose abuses at factory farms and other businesses throughout the state.
Read more.Trump EPA OKs ‘Emergency’ Use of Bee-killing Pesticide on 13.9 Million Acres
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency announced so-called “emergency” approvals today to spray sulfoxaflor — an insecticide it considers “very highly toxic” to bees — on nearly 14 million acres of crops known to attract bees.
Read more.Lawsuit Launched to Stop Toxic Algae Bloom Releases From Lake Okeechobee
FT. PIERCE, Fla.— Conservation groups sued three federal agencies today for failing to address harm to Florida’s endangered species from Lake Okeechobee releases containing toxic algae.
Read more.Appeals Court Throws Out Case Blocking Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline, Relying on New Permit Issued by President Trump
SAN FRANCISCO— The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a legal challenge to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, ruling the case was no longer active due to President Trump’s revocation of the permit at the center of the case. In March, Trump issued a new “presidential” permit for Keystone XL, in an effort to spur construction of the pipeline.
Read more.New Study: United States Uses 85 Pesticides Outlawed in Other Countries
PORTLAND, Ore.— The United States allows the use of 85 pesticides that have been banned or are being phased out in the European Union, China or Brazil, according to a peer-reviewed study published today by the academic journal Environmental Health.
Read more.Federal Appeals Court Allows Lawsuit Challenging Lead Ammo Use in Arizona's Kaibab National Forest
TUCSON, Ariz.— Ruling in favor of conservation groups, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today allowed a lawsuit to move forward challenging the use of lead ammunition in Arizona’s Kaibab National Forest.
Read more.Louisiana Announces Air-pollution Hearing for Formosa Plastics Plant
ST. JAMES PARISH, La.— The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality today announced a public hearing and comment period to consider granting an air-pollution permit to a massive plant Formosa Plastics wants to build in St. James Parish.
Read more.Lawsuit Seeks to Protect South Platte River From Colorado Slaughterhouse Pollution
DENVER— The Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch filed a lawsuit in federal court today against the JBS-Swift Beef Company to stop illegal discharges of slaughterhouse pollution into Colorado’s South Platte River.
Read more.Florida Petitioned to Protect People From Harmful Algae Blooms
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.― The Center for Biological Diversity, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation and Calusa Waterkeeper petitioned the Florida Department of Environmental Protection today to protect the public from toxins in the harmful algal blooms that keep reoccurring in the state.
Read more.Lawsuit Pushes Trump EPA to Address Asthma-causing Air Pollution in Phoenix, Northern California
OAKLAND, Calif.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Environmental Health sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today for failing to address smog and soot pollution affecting more than 1.5 million people in Arizona and Northern California.
Read more.Rallies in Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara to Oppose Trump's Oil-leasing Plan for California
BAKERSFIELD, Calif.— Environmental and community groups joined by elected officials will hold rallies this week to blast the Trump administration’s draft plan to open more than a million acres of public land and mineral estate in central California to oil drilling and fracking. The rallies will precede each of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s public hearings in Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.
Read more.Pipeline Shutdown Prevented 27 Million Tons of Carbon Pollution in California
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— The closure of Plains All American Pipeline’s coastal California oil pipeline after it ruptured four years ago has prevented massive emissions of climate pollution. If the seven offshore drilling platforms served by the pipeline had not gone idle, they would have added 27 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution to the atmosphere. That’s roughly equivalent to operating two coal-fired power plants in California over the same period — or burning almost 30 billion pounds of coal.
Read more.Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Approval of Massive Utah Oil Shale Development
BONANZA, Utah— Conservation groups today sued the Trump administration to challenge what would be the nation’s first commercial-scale oil shale mine and processing facility. The lawsuit says officials failed to protect several endangered species when they approved rights-of-way across public lands to provide utilities to the proposed oil shale development.
Read more.Court Order Sought to Stop Rosemont Mine Construction in Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz.— Conservation groups and tribes Wednesday asked a federal court to prevent construction from starting on the Rosemont Copper Mine in southern Arizona until a judge rules on pending lawsuits filed by the parties.
Read more.Study: Antibiotics Proposed for Pesticide Use by Trump EPA Can Facilitate Resistance in Lethal Bacteria
WASHINGTON— A federal study has found that medically important antibiotics the EPA has proposed to re-approve for expanded pesticide use on crops can facilitate antibiotic resistance in bacteria that pose “urgent” and “serious” threats to human health.
Read more.Trump EPA Seeks to Slash Pesticide Protections for Imperiled Wildlife
WASHINGTON— The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released a set of proposed changes that would dramatically reduce protections for the nation’s most endangered plants and animals from pesticides known to harm them. The proposals ignore the real-world, science-based assessments of pesticides’ harms, instead relying on arbitrary industry-created models.
Read more.Records Sought on EPA Proposal to Reapprove Cancer-linked Pesticide
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity today asked the Trump administration for public records to assess the pesticide industry’s influence on the Environmental Protection Agency proposal to reapprove the cancer-linked pesticide glyphosate.
Read more.Analysis: Public Overwhelmingly Wants EPA Ban on Wildlife-killing 'Cyanide Bombs'
WASHINGTON— More than 99.9 percent of people commenting on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal to reauthorize sodium cyanide in wildlife-killing devices called M-44s support a ban on these “cyanide bombs,” according to an analysis released today.
Read more.Lawsuits Challenge Trump Administration's Refusal to Release Documents on Pesticides
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity filed four lawsuits today challenging the Trump administration’s failure to release a trove of documents detailing how the administration is regulating dangerous pesticides, especially as they relate to endangered species.
Read more.