EPA released an updated strategy Tuesday for making herbicides less perilous to endangered species.
The final plan reflects more than a year of proposals and revisions, as well as work with industry groups, environmental organizations and the Department of Agriculture. EPA said it would make for smoother required consultations with the Fish and Wildlife Service.
While the document, available on an EPA docket, doesn’t itself limit the use of weed killers, it lays out a process for determining how the risks to endangered species should be minimized for new chemicals and those awaiting renewed registrations.
The agency would rely on a point-based system that accounts for combinations of measures farmers can take, even well before the environmental agency determines the exact effects from a particular chemical. Techniques might prevent runoff from fields or spray drift when chemicals are applied, among other practices.
