NCAP's Win For Salmon!
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NCAP's Win For Salmon!
Date:
Tue, 6 Aug 2002 08:52:58 -400
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
August 5, 2002
Dear NCAP members and friends:
The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) is pleased to report a significant legal victory in our efforts to protect Pacific salmon and water quality from pesticide contamination. For over twelve years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has blatantly violated their mandate to evaluate the impact of pesticides on 26 Pacific salmon species listed under the Endangered Species Act. As part of the Clean Water for Salmon Campaign, NCAP has been working for the past two years with Washington Toxics Coalition, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Association and Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund on this particular Endangered Species Act lawsuit.
All of our work on research, negotiation proceedings, and litigation has paid off. On July 2, 2002, U.S. Federal District Court Judge John Coughenour ruled that the EPA has failed to fulfill its obligations and must take action immediately to begin protecting Pacific salmon from the harmful effects of fifty-five pesticides. Judge Coughenour called EPA's "wholesale non-compliance" with its Endangered Species Act obligations "patently unlawful."
This is a major victory for salmon and the communities that depend on the quality of the Northwest's waters. Our efforts would not have been possible without your support . You can learn more about the Clean Water for Salmon Campaign and the science behind the litigation off of NCAP's website at: http://www.pesticide.org/CleanWaterSalmon.html
Our recent ruling is a giant step forward down the path of protecting the region's waterways from the contamination of pesticides. It sets a precedent for the protection of endangered or threatened species from pesticides across the country by holding the EPA accountable for the first time on the harmful effects that registered pesticides may pose to species' survival. And, it strengthens the Clean Water for Salmon Campaign as we head deeper into the battle of protecting our waterways, our wildlife, and ourselves from harmful pesticide contamination.
Many thanks,
Pollyanna Lind
Clean Water Campaign Coordinator
salmon@pesticide.org
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The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP)
P.O. Box 1393, Eugene, OR 97440
phone (541) 344-5044, ext 17
Fax (541) 344-6923
www.pesticide.org
NCAP's work is supported in large part by dues from our members. If you are not already a member, please consider joining! Our dues are $25 per year, $15 limited income. Members receive our quarterly "Journal of Pesticide Reform," as well as periodic Action Alerts on timely pesticide reform topics.
If you would like to be included in our mailing list for continuing information on pesticides, please email us at list@safe2use.com.