US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Vacates Dicamba Registration

On Wednesday, June 3, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling vacating the federal registration for three dicamba herbicide products, Xtendimax, FeXapan, and Engenia.  [Read full opinion here.]  This ruling could have major implications for farmers around the country who purchased and planted seed intending to apply these products...The Plaintiffs in this case, the National Family Farm Coalition, Center for Food Safety, Center for Biological Diversity, and Pesticide Action Network North America, filed suit against the EPA challenging the 2018 registration, alleging that the EPA’s approval violated FIFRA and the Endangered Species Act.  The Court granted Monsanto’s request to intervene in the case.  Oral argument was held on April 21, 2020. The Ninth Circuit sided with the Plaintiffs, holding that the 2018 registration violated FIFRA.  Specifically, the Court held the “EPA substantially understated risks that it acknowledged and failed to entirely acknowledge other risks.” Because the Court found the FIFRA violation and vacated the registration on those grounds, it did not reach the question of whether the registration violated the Endangered Species Act...MORE