 Energy & Environment |
Energy & Environment |
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EPA OKs dicamba, with some restrictions |
The Trump administration will reapprove the controversial herbicide dicamba for use on cotton and soybeans, with some restrictions. |
© Randy Hoeft/The Yuma Sun via Associated Press |
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the decision to reapprove the chemical for two years in a statement late Friday afternoon. Dicamba has been sprayed on crops for decades. The move comes as the Trump administration faces competing pressure from different sides of its base: farming and chemical interests tend to support pesticide and herbicide approvals, but they face growing scrutiny from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. The agency, in its statement, acknowledged concerns about dicamba drift: when the pesticide moves through the air to other locations where it wasn't meant to be sprayed. It said that it was putting new restrictions in place. "The ecological risks associated with dicamba drift and volatility are real. If not carefully mitigated, off-target movement of dicamba can damage sensitive plants and impact neighboring farms and natural ecosystems. These concerns are exactly why the strongest safeguards ever are essential," said the agency's statement, which was not attributed to a particular person. It said that it would cut the amount of dicamba that can be used each year in half and limiting usage during high temperatures. "When applied according to the new label instructions, EPA's analysis found no unreasonable risk to human health and the environment," the statement said. Environmental advocates criticized the EPA's decision. "The industry cronies at the EPA just approved a pesticide that they know drifts for miles and poisons organic crops, backyard gardens and 100-year-old trees," said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, in an emailed statement. Read at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains. |
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| How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future: |
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House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said she would support funding agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that don't deal with immigration enforcement while lawmakers negotiate reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). |
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New York Democratic state lawmakers unveiled a bill on Friday that would prevent construction of new data centers for three years. It would pause the industry’s meteoric growth so officials can study the impact of artificial intelligence on electric bills and the environment. |
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Martin Luther King III, the son of civil rights advocate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., accused the National Park Service on Thursday of "sanitizing history" amid reported changes at a Mississippi house museum commemorating civil rights activist Medgar Evers. |
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News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: |
- PFAS levels in Great Lakes fish are dropping, study finds (WPR)
- The Olympics are ditching PFAS waxes — and the 'ridiculous' speed they gave skiers (Grist)
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Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: |
Next week - The House could vote on a bill that seeks to give the Energy Department more mineral responsibilities
Tuesday - The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on private-public partnerships on public lands
- The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on various bills
Wednesday - The House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on potential DHS shutdown impacts. FEMA's acting associate administrator for the Office of Response and Recovery is among the officials slated to appear.
Thursday - The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on several bills
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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A notable number of Republican lawmakers broke sharply with the White House on Friday after President Trump posted — and later deleted — a video on social media that included a clip of former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama depicted as apes. Read more |
| Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) called for an investigation Thursday into Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for attending the Grammy Awards, where various artists criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Read more |
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You're all caught up. See you Monday! |
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