Just when you think that the Government or one of its many agencies cannot make you shake your head anymore, the EPA basically tells us to hold their beverage and watch this.
Usually, when the EPA grants registration to a product, the matter is closed until the next time it comes up for recertification. That?s just the way it has always been. In 2019, the Trump EPA granted certification to atrazine. The matter should have been closed until this certification ran out. However, the Biden EPA is facing a lawsuit from environmental groups and has decided to reopen the certification, and is looking to push arbitrary limits based more on politics than science.
Gary Marshall is Co-Chair of the Triazine Network. He says that this lawsuit, brought by anti-agriculture groups, is causing the EPA to propose lowering the ?ecological level of concern value? for atrazine to 3.4 parts per billion. Down from the 15 parts per billion level that was reached based on scientific data analyzed in 2019.
The biggest head-scratcher is that these groups are suing on behalf of aquatic algae and fungus that aren?t even native to the waterways in the lawsuit.
Marshall says that if these restrictions are improved, it will lead to an increased cost of $42 per acre. You can do the math from there on 100 acres or 10,000 acres. He is asking for farmers to make their comments heard during the open comment period, which is open until September 6th. You can find the information here.
