Appeals Court Keeps No-Spray Buffers for Salmon in Place

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to set aside a lower court ruling prohibiting the spraying of certain pesticides near salmon streams while chemical companies appeal. The pesticide industry group CropLife and grower groups requested a stay that would remove safeguards from hazardous pesticides for salmon. 

The U.S. District Court in Seattle denied CropLife's request for a stay on March 18. Today the Ninth Circuit agreed and denied the stay as well. The district court issued the January 2004 injunction that put in place no-spray zones of 100 yards for aerial applications and 20 yards for ground applications of more than 30 pesticides. The district court's injunction also required in-store warnings to inform consumers that seven urban-use pesticides may harm salmon. As a result of today's Ninth Circuit decision, the salmon protections put in place by the injunction will remain in place throughout the appeal.

"The pesticide industry overreached in their effort to block protections for salmon," said Patti Goldman of Earthjustice, who represented the plaintiffs. "This injunction was clearly warranted to get pesticides out of streams while EPA complies with the Endangered Species Act and develops permanent protections for salmon."

"The pesticide industry brought all its resources to bear to convince the courts to stop salmon protections, but clean water and salmon won," said Erika Schreder, staff scientist with the Washington Toxics Coalition. "The court has looked at the facts and found that action is needed now to prevent pesticide harm to salmon."

U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour issued the injunction on January 22, 2004, as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Washington Toxics Coalition, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, and Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, with representation by Earthjustice. The Environmental Protection Agency and pesticide companies appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit, but the injunction will stay in place throughout the appeals process. 

The injunction followed Judge Coughenour's 2002 decision that found EPA out of compliance with the Endangered Species Act for failing to protect salmon from harmful pesticides. The judge ordered EPA to consult with NOAA Fisheries to start the process of establishing permanent restrictions needed to protect salmon from 54 pesticides, over a two-and-a-half-year timeline. It will be years before those protections are in place on the ground. 

Contact:

Patti Goldman
Earthjustice
206-343-7340 ext. 32

Erika Schreder
Washington Toxics Coalition
206-632-1545 ext. 119>

Aimee Code
Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
541-344-5044 ext. 27

Glen Spain
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations
541-689-2000

For more information please see our press release of January 22, 2004, which contains links to two documents of further background information.