(Beyond Pesticides, September, 15, 2009) On September 11, 2009,
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to
place additional limitations on the use of three organophosphate
pesticides â€” chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion â€” to
protect endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead in
California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The announcement comes
in response to a series of lawsuits brought by Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermenâ€™s Associations (PCFFA), the Northwest
Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, and other salmon
advocates, with legal representation from Earthjustice, aimed at
removing toxic pesticides from salmon spawning streams
throughout the northwest. In response to the litigation, the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in November of 2008
released a â€śbiological opinionâ€ť that set forth a plan for
protecting Pacific salmon and steelhead from three toxic
organophosphate pesticides. That decision came after almost a
decade of legal wrangling between salmon advo