Jim Steadman for Cotton Grower
A July 22 ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the EPA registration of Enlist Duo herbicide in a victory for Corteva Agriscience’s 2,4-D choline and glyphosate premix for over-the-top use on Enlist cotton, corn and soybeans.
The ruling comes after a weeks-long legal battle in June after the same Court vacated the registrations for XtendiMax, Engenia and FeXapan dicamba herbicides, creating chaos among the industry and growers who were preparing for weed control applications. The EPA ruled that growers could continue to use existing stocks of those products through July 31 – a decision that was challenged by the plaintiffs and upheld by the Court.
The legal challenge to Enlist Duo was filed in 2017 by many of the same plaintiffs responsible for the dicamba action, including the Center for Food Safety, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Family Farm Coalition, Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network.
The groups challenged EPA’s registration decisions regarding Enlist Duo, including volatility potential, increased herbicide use and its impact on environmental habitats for monarch butterflies and other species. The majority ruling, with one judge dissenting, dismissed all but one of the plaintiffs’ arguments, but remanded EPA to address evidence concerning harm to monarch butterflies and whether the registration of Enlist Duo will lead to an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
Product registration was not impacted.
In a statement issued following the Court ruling, the Center for Food Safety vowed to analyze all legal options, including seeking a full court rehearing.
“Today’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision correctly held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to protect monarch butterflies in registering Dow’s toxic pesticide Enlist Duo,” said George Kimbrell, Legal Director of the Center for Food Safety. “These iconic butterflies are in steep decline from the overuse of glyphosate-based pesticides like Enlist Duo, which kill off the farm field milkweed plants that are indispensable for the butterfly’s reproduction. Unfortunately, the Court erred in concluding that the EPA approval was otherwise lawful and allowing the pesticide to stay on the market.”
