SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle overturned a Bush administration decision that streamlined approval of pesticides by eliminating reviews by wildlife officials responsible for protecting rare animals and plants.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said the change reflected a "total lack" of scientific justification and that there were "disturbing indications" the administration deliberately muted dissent from government scientists.

In 2001, environmental groups sued over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's failure to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before allowing certain pesticides to be sold.

But in 2004, the Bush administration created a new rule allowing it to ignore the "consultation" requirement of the Endangered Species Act — a part of the law it had been ignoring for at least a decade. Pesticide manufacturers had long urged the 2004 change, calling it a "sensible approach" to allow the EPA to judge the risks to wildlife from their products.

Coughenour’s ruling restored pre-2004 standards requiring the EPA to consult federal wildlife biologists before licensing pesticides.

Coughenour acknowledged the EPA faced "a task of gargantuan proportions" in consulting Fish and Wildlife scientists on pesticides. But he said the Bush administration was "arbitrary and capricious" in letting the EPA bypass their review, because the Endangered Species Act requires such consultations for any action that could jeopardize a species' survival.

Environmental activist groups hailed the ruling as a victory, while on the other side, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, based in Washington, D.C. called the judge’s ruling a mistake. According to CEI, EPA regulations already ensure that pesticides have no measurable impact on endangered species, and CEI research showed that existing pesticides have little impact on species.

“Delaying access to life these life-saving products at a time when they are greatly needed to address problems such as the West  Nile virus is bad public health policy,” said CEI’s director of risk and environmental policy, Angela Logomasini
 
“Faster approval of new pesticide products is desperately needed because only a handful of effective products remain on the market for fighting West Nile,” Logomasini continued. Current excessive pesticide regulations have reduced the number of products available and discourage new product development.

The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control report more than 20,000 serious West Nile illnesses and about 800 deaths from the virus since 1999.

Sources:

"Judge rejects Bush ruling on pesticides," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Aug. 25, 2006

"EPA's Pesticide Streamlining Rejected," LA Times, Aug. 25, 2006