The Environmental Protection Agency defends its decision to allow use of existing dicamba stocks. It is in response to petitioners advocating for the dicamba ban.
The filing says EPA took responsible steps to avoid unregulated and inappropriate use of existing stockpiles. The agency says that their action did not violate the court order because it did not restore the registration. When registrations are canceled product misuse is not a violation.
EPA says that their move ensures leftover products are not in regulatory limbo and will be used properly. A group of national grower trade associations stand behind EPA’s decision, saying that an immediate ban on using the products would add insult to injury, as farmers recover from supply chain disruptions and face low commodity prices.
In what they call an unrelated move, Bayer AG scraps a $1 billion dollar project to make dicamba in the United States. They say it is trying to save money in the midst of the legal battle over roundup weed killer.