Late in 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized biological evaluations on the herbicides glyphosate, atrazine, and simazine. All three, the EPA says in its finding, are “likely to adversely affect” certain species listed under the Endangered Species Act and their “designated critical habitats.”
However, the “likely to adversely affect” (LAA) threshold in the studies the EPA uses are very sensitive because the likely “take” of even one individual of a species, which includes unintentional harm or death, triggers an LAA determination. Still, working in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and manufacturers of the herbicides, some new restrictions have been, or will be implemented to help protect endangered species.
To avoid conflict, manufacturers of atrazine and simazine products requested to voluntarily prohibit use of atrazine and simazine in Hawaii, Alaska, and the U.S. territories. They also requested to delete certain uses from their product registrations.
Atrazine uses were cancelled for:
- roadsides,
- Conservation Reserve Program land,
- conifers (including Christmas tree plantings),
- timber and forestry, and
- miscanthus and other perennial bioenergy crops.
Simazine uses were cancelled for shelterbelts and forestry (except for Christmas tree plantings).
Changes in glyphosate’s use are already underway. In July 2021, Bayer (who makes glyphosate-based Roundup) announced a five-point plan to manage and resolve future litigation risk from use of the product. Among the moves, Bayer announced it would stop selling Roundup products for residential use starting in 2023.
In a related action, the only manufacturer of the herbicide propazine requested to voluntarily cancel its remaining product registrations.
You can read the final biological evaluations for glyphosate, atrazine, and simazine on the EPA website. To learn more about the Biological Evaluations that led to the actions, see EPA’s website here: Biological Evaluation FAQ.
