S.F. species harmed by EPA-approved pesticides, group says

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S.F. species harmed by EPA-approved pesticides, group says
Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer
Wednesday, May 30, 2007

(05-30) 16:49 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The nation's top environmental agency has illegally approved 60 pesticides without first checking to see if they could harm endangered wildlife, including many Bay Area species, according to a lawsuit filed today.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit organization with offices in San Francisco, accuses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of failing to consult with federal wildlife agencies before approving some pesticides.
EPA officials in Washington dismissed the allegations, saying the agency appropriately investigates pesticides to make sure they do not have a significantly detrimental impact on protected species.
But the environmental group countered that the pesticides in question could harm at least 30 animal species found in the San Francisco Bay region and protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Those species include once-common fish like the Delta smelt and the tidewater goby, as well as the California clapper rail, salt marsh harvest mouse, California tiger salamander, San Francisco garter snake, California freshwater shrimp, San Joaquin kit fox, Alameda whipsnake, bay checkerspot butterfly and the valley elderberry longhorn beetle.
The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to compel the EPA to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the issue as required by federal law. It also asks that the EPA be forced to study the cumulative environmental impacts of several pesticides as well as the potential harm caused by so-called "inert" chemicals used to produce pesticides.
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