Products containing certain neonic insecticides should be subject to ESA analysis, judge finds

The Environmental Protection Agency may have to assess the effects on endangered species of 59 products containing clothianidin and thiamethoxam, two neonicotinoid insecticides. A federal judge has found that the agency violated the Endangered Species Act by registering the products without complying with Endangered Species Act consultation requirements, said Center for Food Safety attorney George Kimbrell, who represents his group and other plaintiffs in the case, including four beekeepers, Beyond Pesticides, the Sierra Club and the Center for Environmental Health.U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney of the Northern District of California did not order EPA to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service on the effects of the products on listed species. Instead, she ordered the parties, including EPA and Bayer CropScience, which intervened on the side of the agency, to schedule a settlement conference. If settlement talks fail, the parties will have to address in court what the next step will be.