ELR Citation: 54 ELR 20114
No(s). 3:22-cv-00790-HZ (D. Or. Aug 1, 2024) (Hernandez, J.)

A district court granted summary judgment for conservation groups in a challenge to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') recent update to a program concerning the use of pesticides to suppress grasshopper and cricket outbreaks. The groups argued APHIS' 2019 EIS and five state-level EAs implementing the program violated NEPA. The court found the EIS failed to consider a holistic alternative to grasshopper control, failed to establish baseline conditions, and failed to take a "hard look" at the impact on sensitive species. It further found the state-level EAs failed to analyze site-specific impacts, baseline information regarding past pesticide treatment and sensitive species, and cumulative effects. It granted summary judgment for the groups.