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May 30, 2007 10:52 pm US/Pacific
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SF Group Says EPA Violated Endangered Species Act
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a statement in response to a lawsuit filed in San Francisco Federal Court alleging the agency violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing the use of 60 toxic pesticides in habitats of 11 Bay Area endangered species.
EPA press officer Ernesta Jones said, "The agency takes its responsibilities to safeguard people, wildlife, and the environment seriously."
Jones said the "pesticide registration process EPA follows uses well-established scientific methods to investigate and minimize their impact on the environment."
Jeff Miller, a spokesman for plaintiff organization the Center for Biological Diversity, said many pesticides currently used threaten endangered Bay Area mice, fish, salamanders, snakes, shrimp, foxes, beetles and butterflies.
The EPA is required to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine which chemicals may be harmful to endangered species, Miller said.
Published U.S. Fish and Wildlife studies indicate certain pesticides pose a threat to endangered species yet the EPA continues to allow use of the pesticides, according to Miller.
The Center for Biological Diversity is seeking an injunction against the EPA, prohibiting the use of certain pesticides. Miller said his organization also wants warning labels placed on pesticides that have been found to be harmful to endangered species.
According to Miller, warning labels on pesticides are crucial because the EPA is unable to regulate personal use of harmful pesticides that remain on the market. Miller said without warning labels, private citizens may unwittingly be using pesticides harmful to endangered species.
"Given the proximity of agricultural pesticide spraying to some Bay Area residential areas, surveys that have detected accumulation of pesticides in local creeks and San Francisco Bay, and with what we know about movement of pesticides through drift and runoff, we should be wondering if we are next when we see endangered species poisoned by these chemicals," Miller said.
May 27 would have been the centennial birthday of environmental activist Rachel Carson, whose 1962 book "Silent Spring" raised questions about the impact of pesticides on the environment and on human health.
"Ending the use of known poisons in habitat for our most endangered wildlife is an appropriate 100th birthday tribute to Rachel Carson, who alerted us to the hazards of exposure to toxic chemicals almost half a century ago," Miller said.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)