LULAC et al. v. EPA

Reference :

19-71979 // 19-71982 // 17-71636 // 14-72794

Complaint date :

July 30, 2007

Status :

Final judgment

Place of jurisdiction :

United States, San Francisco

Plaintiffs types :

Environmental NGOs, Farm/rural workers, Unions

Plaintiffs names :

United Farmworkers AFL-CIO, Sea Mar Community Health Center, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste , Beyond Pesticides, Frente Indigena de Organizaciones Binacionales, Farm Labor Organizing Committee AFL-CIO, Teamsters Local 890, Martha Rodriguez, Silvina Canez, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Farmworkers Association of Florida, Farmworker Justice, State of New York, State of California, State of Washington, State of Maryland, State of Vermont, Commonwealth of Massachusetts,

Defendants :

EPA

Lawyers for Health and Environmental Justice :

Patti Goldman, Joshua Osborne-Klein, Kristen L. Boyles, Shelley Davis, Virginia Ruiz, Aaron Colangelo, Michael Meuter, Jonathan Gettleman, Kevin E. Regan, Marianne E. Lado, Marisa C. Ordonia

Case nature :

Administrative

Specificities :

Civil action for injunctive and declaratory relief

Type(s), Product(s), Active substance(s) :

, Chlorpyrifos, Organophosphate

Requests :

Plaintiffs ask EPA to ban the use of chlorpyrifos.

Name of the Court :

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit of San Francisco, United States

Jurisdiction level :

Decision date :

April 29, 2021

Decision nature :

Positive

Decision content :

EPA is ordered to ban all food uses of chlorpyrifos or retain only those uses it can find safe for workers and children. The court gave EPA 60 days from the end of the case to revoke the tolerances.

Legal basis :

Court Ruling :

Link to the ruling

Summary :

On April 29, 2021, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals orders EPA to ban all food uses of chlorpyrifos or retain only those uses it can find safe for workers and children. The court gave EPA 60 days from the end of the case to revoke the tolerances. On July 18, 2021 EPA announces that it will publish a regulation to block the use of chlorpyrifos on food, to take effect in 6 months. On Oct. 19, 2021 the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) filed a petition with the EPA saying the final ruling banning chlorpyrifos was bungled and should be reversed.

Scientific references :

Impact of prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure on neurodevelopment in the first 3 years of life among inner-city children.
A summary of recent findings on birth outcomes and developmental effects of prenatal ETS, PAH, and pesticide exposures.
Effects of transplacental exposure to environmental pollutants on birth outcomes in a multiethnic population.
Prenatal insecticide exposures and birth weight and length among an urban minority cohort.