Salmon-Pesticide Buffer Set

GILLIAN FLACCUS / AP 18jul03

A judge orders the protection while rules are made.

PORTLAND — A federal judge ordered the government Thursday to establish temporary buffer zones for more than 50 common pesticides along salmon-bearing streams while it creates permanent environmental regulations.

The order, issued by U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle, comes after the court ruled in 2002 in favor of environmentalists and fishing groups who sued the Environmental Protection Agency regarding its pesticide regulations.

Coughenour’s action was hailed as a major victory by environmentalists, who said the buffers would protect dwindling salmon numbers from pesticides while the government devises more thorough rules — a process that could take years. The buffers to salmon streams could be located anywhere along the coast from the Puget Sound in Washington to central California.

“There’s so few restrictions on agricultural activities to protect salmon and it takes so long to get meaningful restrictions on pesticide use,” said Patti Goldman, managing attorney for Earthjustice, a plaintiff in the case.

Heather Hansen of Washington Friends of Farms and Families did not return calls for comment Thursday. Officials from the American Crop Protection Association also did not return calls.

In the original lawsuit, the groups alleged that the agency had not evaluated the threat to 26 threatened and endangered salmon species posed by 54 pesticides with a wide range of applications.

As a result of the lawsuit, the EPA must consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine permanent regulations for those pesticides. That process could result in a ban on some chemicals and severe restrictions on others, including possible bans on aerial spraying, spraying in salmon-bearing watersheds or seasonal bans, Goldman said.

The government will hold a public hearing on Aug. 14 to solicit suggestions on the size of the temporary buffers. There is no set date for when they will be established.

Sublegals v.8, n.3 18jul03 8:03/03.

JUDGE TO ORDER PROTECTIVE BUFFER ZONES AROUND
SALMON-BEARING STREAMS TO PROTECT FISH FROM PESTICIDES:

In another important victory for salmon, this time in a federal District Court pesticide case (Washington Toxics Coalition, et. al. vs. EPA; Western Dist. of Washington at Seattle, Civ. No. C01-132C), on 16 July Federal U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour issued an order granting interim injunctive relief in the form of mandatory stream buffer zones to protect salmon from pesticides. Fifty-four pesticides known to kill salmon, and also known to occur in west coast rivers at levels exceeding federal aquatic life standards, will be outlawed within these buffer zones until permanent protective measures have been established by the federal agencies.

This case arises out of a ruling on 2 July 2002 that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had long been violating the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on ways to minimize the impact of these 54 compounds on ESA-listed salmon and steelhead (see Sublegals, 6:01/05; 5:07/08; 3:18/12; 3:05/02). That consultation process, now ongoing in accordance with the Court's prior ruling, is expected to take several years. In the meantime, these pesticides continue to enter west coast rivers where they damage salmonids, and so the plaintiffs asked the court to impose interim protective buffers zones around salmon-bearing streams until the EPA and NMFS determines whether additional product use restrictions or other protective measures are appropriate. PCFFA and IFR are co-plaintiffs in that case. Actual buffer sizes will be determined for each chemical in a special hearing scheduled for 14 August.