EPA Accused of Failing To Regulate Use of Toxic Herbicides Despite Court Order

Instead of yanking products, EPA made Monsanto and others amend labels before reapproving dicamba, lawsuit claims

The US Environmental Protection Agency has in effect ignored a 2020 federal court order prohibiting the use of Monsanto and other producers’ toxic dicamba-based herbicides that are destroying millions of acres of cropland, harming endangered species and increasing cancer risks for farmers, new fillings in the lawsuit charge.

Instead of permanently yanking the products from the market after the 2020 order, the EPA only required industry to add further application instructions to the herbicides’ labels before reapproving the products.

“The new litigation was prompted by the EPA’s decision to ignore the court’s ruling and move forward with reapproving the pesticide,” plaintiffs in the lawsuit wrote in a statement. “In re-approving dicamba, the EPA once again failed to weigh the true costs to farmers and the environment.”

A late 2021 EPA investigation found the same problems persist even with new directions added to the label, but the agency still allows Monsanto, BASF and other producers to continue using dicamba.