Biological Opinion for Pesticides: Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon, and Malathion

NOAA Fisheries provided the Environmental Protection Agency with its final Biological Opinion addressing EPA’s registration of three chemicals—Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon, and Malathion—per a court ordered deadline. 

On November 9, 2017, per NOAA Fisheries request and EPA’s agreement, the Department of Justice requested a time extension with the court to complete our biological opinion on EPA’s registration of chlorpyrifos, malathion, and diazinon. Sam Rauch, NOAA Fisheries' Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs submitted a declaration describing the reasons for this time extension request.

Those reasons included concerns raised by EPA, U.S. FWS, and stakeholders regarding a variety of technical and methodological issues that will require lengthier and more intensive inter-agency collaborative work to address. Getting more time would have also allowed NOAA Fisheries to engage with the public and stakeholders on a draft biological opinion prior to issuance of a final biological opinion, as originally planned and as recommended by the National Academies of Sciences.

Unfortunately, NOAA Fisheries did not receive the requested extension and was required to transmit the biological opinion which, given the time, cannot fully account for the need to coordinate on a different process for developing such opinions or to fully engage the public.

NOAA Fisheries recognizes that this biological opinion is only part of the extensive investments that EPA, U.S. FWS, and NOAA Fisheries have made towards Endangered Species Act consultations.

Although NOAA Fisheries has been required to issue this biological opinion sooner than desired, NOAA Fisheries remains committed to working with EPA and U.S. FWS to improve the ESA Section 7 consultation process.