After 27 years of delay: Organizations sue EPA over agricultural pesticide

Three American environmental and health organizations have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, accusing it of failing to complete national water quality standards for the herbicide atrazine, despite starting work on them 27 years ago. The organizations are asking the court to compel the agency to set a binding timeline for completing the standards.

Three American environmental and health organizations have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accusing it of failing to complete national water quality standards for the herbicide atrazine, despite starting work on them over a quarter century ago. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Center for Environmental Health, and the Pesticide Action Network North America. The organizations are asking the court to compel the agency to set a binding timeline for proposing and finalizing the standards, arguing that the ongoing delay since 1999 constitutes a violation of the agency's duties under U.S. laws. The lawsuit is based on the Clean Water Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. The EPA declined to comment on the lawsuit, according to a report by KUNR published by Utah Public Radio.