Tell EPA: Get the Science Right on ESA Biological Evaluation

As you know, EPA didn’t do us any favors in their biological evaluation of atrazine for the upcoming Endangered Species Act review, and the deadline for comments is just two weeks away, Friday, Feb. 19. Given the importance of atrazine to growers, we need to hold EPA’s feet to the fire on this issue. We are asking you to submit brief comments on this onerous biological evaluation.

When EPA approved the re-registration of atrazine in October, we warned growers to be prepared for the next step – the ESA review. Our ongoing conversations with EPA through the seven-year atrazine registration review process yielded written promises from EPA to both the Triazine Network and NCGA. They pledged they would get the science right – removing flawed studies and adding more recent credible research. That didn’t happen in the re-registration, and it didn’t happen in the biological evaluation. As a result, EPA’s biological evaluation, using a new, unproven evaluation tool, stated that atrazine is “likely to adversely affect” 56 percent of endangered species. Use this information sheet to help formulate comments from your organization and grower-leaders by the Friday, Feb. 19 deadline.

HERE’S HOW TO POST A PUBLIC COMMENT ON ATRAZINE –Deadline Friday, Feb. 19

1. Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Enter docket no. EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0514 in the search bar, then click “Search.”

2. Click the blue “Comment” box below, “Draft Endangered Species Act Biological Evaluations: Atrazine, Simazine, and Propazine Registration Review.”

3. Type or paste your comments into the free-text box and upload any attachments you wish to submit, then click the “Continue” button at the bottom of the page.

4. Follow instructions on the page to finalize your submission and click “Submit comment.”