Environmental, fishing groups seek court action to protect salmon Environmental and fishing groups have filed for an injunction in Seattle Federal District Court to limit the pesticide uses most likely to harm salmon. The move follows a July court ruling that forces the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that it does not allow pesticide uses that harm endangered salmon. The groups are seeking the injunction to put interim protections in place until EPA brings its pesticide regulations into compliance with the Endangered Species Act. The action is still pending. “We know these pesticides are in our rivers and streams and they can harm salmon,” said Aimee Code of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides. “We need the court to put salmon protections in place today.” The groups filing for the injunction include the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, the Washington Toxics Coalition, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, and the Institute for Fisheries Resources. They are represented by Earthjustice. The groups are seeking the following interim protections: • A 100-yard no-spray zone to protect salmon from aerial applications of pesticides near salmon streams; • A 20-yard no-spray zone to protect salmon from ground applications of pesticides near salmon streams; and a ban on homeowner (non-licensed) use in urban areas of certain pesticides likely to harm salmon. “We’re asking for common-sense protections to reduce pesticide contamination of our waters while EPA complies with the law,” said Erika Schreder of the Washington Toxics Coalition, a non-profit organization in Seattle, dedicated to protecting public health and the environment by preventing pollution. In July, Judge Coughenour ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to initiate consultations with the National Marine Fisheries Service on protection of salmon from 54 pesticides. These consultations mark the first step toward ensuring pesticide use will not wipe out threatened and endangered salmon. Water monitoring by the U.S. Geological Survey has found extensive evidence of pesticides in salmon waters, including fourteen pesticides at levels likely to cause harm. The original lawsuit, decided in July, also cited EPA’s own documents finding that current uses for numerous pesticides are likely to threaten fish or their habitat. In total, EPA’s findings and the U.S. Geological Survey detections identified 54 pesticides that pose documented threats to salmon. A report, “Poisoned Waters: Pesticide Contamination of Waters and Solutions to Protect Pacific Salmon,” produced by the Washington Toxics Coalition, is available online at www.watoxics.org. The no-spray buffers sought in the injunction would apply to the 54 pesticides in the July court order, and the urban restrictions would apply to products containing 13 selected pesticides that pose particular hazards in urban areas. The groups are asking the court to put the measures in place while EPA complies with last summer’s order. “Our salmon populations are in decline, and we need swift action to address the causes of that decline,” said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “This is a step toward restoring salmon that could bring back tens of thousands of fishing jobs and a billion dollar industry to our region.” Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations is the West Coast’s largest trade organization of commercial-fishing families. How to help On a personal basis, individuals can help by buying organic food grown without pesticides and not using pesticides on their home landscaping and gardens. [ top of page ]

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