Congress: Force EPA to Drop Dangerous Dicamba Re-Approval

Today I take pen in hand to write and urge you to press the Environmental Protection Agency to reverse its re-approval of the dangerous pesticide dicamba. The decision to seek re-approval comes less than a month after Kyle Kunkler, a former lobbyist for the American Soybean Association (ASA) was appointed as Trump’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticides at the EPA. Not a coincidence, and a dangerous move. This chemical, mostly for use on genetically engineered cotton and soybeans poses severe risks to crops, gardens, pollinators, and natural areas across rural America. Dicamba drift has caused unprecedented damage to millions of acres of non-target crops and plants. Federal courts have twice vacated its registration due to the EPA's failure to adequately assess the widespread harm caused by this drift-prone pesticide. Despite new proposed restrictions, widespread drift and volatility remain significant threats. "EPA has had seven long years of massive drift damage to learn that dicamba cannot be used safely with GE dicamba-resistant crops," said Bill Freese, science director at Center for Food Safety. "If we allow these proposed decisions to go through, farmers and residents throughout rural America will again see their crops, trees and home gardens decimated by dicamba drift, and natural areas like wildlife refuges will also suffer…EPA must reverse course and withdraw its plans to re-approve this hazardous herbicide." These pesticides are simply dangerous. This is also willful dereliction of duty by the EPA. I urge you to force the EPA by whatever means necessary to reject the re-approval of dicamba to protect farmers, communities, pollinators like monarchs and rusty patched bumblebees, and the environment from further devastation. Thank you for your attention to this very serious matter of public health.