Court sides with growers on seeds treated with pesticides

A California federal court recently ruled that growers can lawfully continue using seed treatment technology involving pesticides.

The plaintiffs in the case, Anderson v. EPA, had asked the court to order the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate seeds treated with pesticides as if the seeds were the pesticides themselves, the result of which would be to unnecessarily duplicate EPA’s science-based regulatory review of the active ingredients used in treatment products, officials said.

The court's ruling, supported by the EPA and an industry coalition including CropLife America, the American Seed Trade Association, the Agricultural Retailers Association and the National Cotton Council of America, found that the 2013 Bee Guidance document on which plaintiffs had relied was neither an “agency action” nor “final” under the Administrative Procedure Act.

“CLA (CropLife America) applauds the court for reinforcing the importance of decisions built on the foundation of established science-based reviews of crop protection products,” Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CLA, said.

“Our members depend on the consistency of the regulatory process to ensure they are able to get new and more advanced products to market, while ensuring these products have been thoroughly tested for environmental and human health safety,” Vroom said.