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The full impact of new
federal restrictions on three common
pesticides remains murky, but several
agricultural and pesticide groups are
wary of the science used to justify the
rules.
The National Marine Fisheries Service
announced the new restrictions Tuesday,
Nov. 18, as part of a final biological
opinion on the effects malathion,
chlorpyrifos and diazonin have on salmon
species in parts of Oregon, Washington,
California and Idaho.
The opinion would require farmers to
establish 1,000-foot buffer zones around
salmon-bearing streams for aerial
applications of the pesticides and
500-foot buffer zones for ground
applications, among other restrictions.
"We don't know what the buffers are
based on, but we don't think they're
based on how the products are being
used," said Heather Hansen, executive
director of the Washington Friends of
Farms and Forests, a natural resource
advocacy group.
She said scientists at NMFS relied on
outdated data to form their conclusions,
and they assumed these pesticides were
much more highly concentrated in surface
water than has ever been documented in
actual streams.
"When they are detected, it's at
extremely low levels," Hansen said.
The biological opinion was issued as a
result of lawsuits filed against NMFS
and the Environmental Protection Agency
by environmental groups, which alleged
that current pesticide regulations
violate the federal Endangered Species
Act.
As part of a July 2008 settlement
agreement, NMFS agreed to review 37
pesticides by 2012 to ensure they don't
harm endangered and threatened salmon
species. Malathion, chlorpyrifos and
diazonin were the first up for review.
The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives
to Pesticides, which was involved in the
settlement, is pleased with the
recommendations.
Aimee Code, water quality coordinator
for the group, said the agency has found
a balance between protecting crops and
fish. "There have been pesticides found
in our water in levels that we know are
harmful to salmon, their habitat and
their food sources," she said. "This is
not a theoretical problem we're dealing
with."
Hansen, on the other hand, is worried
about the biological opinion's
implications for the other 34 pesticides
under NMFS review.
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