ELR Citation: 54 ELR 20159
No(s). 23-cv-02714-SI (N.D. Cal. Nov 20, 2024) (Illston, J.)

A district court denied in part and dismissed in part environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning the use of seeds treated with pesticides. The groups petitioned EPA to subject treated seeds to FIFRA, arguing the Agency could not exempt them from a separate registration process. EPA denied the petition and the groups sued, arguing the denial was arbitrary and capricious, and that EPA exceeded its statutory authority by exempting the treated seeds from going through a separate process. The court found EPA's interpretation of its own regulation was reasonable and owed deference, and that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider the groups' second claim because the registration review process and subsequent opportunities for judicial appeal would address the "character" of pesticide-treated seeds. It granted summary judgment for EPA on the groups' first claim and dismissed the second claim.