A U.S. Senator wants Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to challenge a court ruling that forced the removal of chlorpyrifos from the market.
During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Wednesday, Alabama’s Katie Britt said USDA supports 11 limited chlorpyrifos uses. “In the past, you’ve said you agreed with USDA on the science of this pesticide, and actually the secretary of USDA has personally written that there are safe uses to this product.”
Administrator Regan told the Senate Appropriations Committee his agency will try to meet the high bar set by the 9th Circuit Court and has not appealed the court’s ruling on chlorpyrifos since EPA presented its best argument. “The courts, in its writing, expressed serious frustrations with the agency’s decisions in the past and expressed serious frustrations with where we were on chlorpyrifos, on endangered species and the like.”
Britt says many of her constituents believe EPA is regulating past what science will support, and she encouraged Regan to appeal the chlorpyrifos ruling. Regan told the committee he intends to respect the letter of the law.
