ELR Citation: ELR 21281
No(s). 88-4361 (5th Cir. Jun 2, 1989)

The court holds that under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator may cancel registration of a pesticide upon a finding of significant probability that undesirable consequences to the environment may occur. The court first holds that a significant risk of bird kills, even if birds are actually killed infrequently, may justify the Administrator's decision to ban or restrict diazinon use. The court next holds that, under FIFRA §6(b), the Administrator must determine whether the use of a pesticide in a particular application creates unreasonable risks, though not necessarily actual adverse consequences, with considerable frequency. Additionally, the Administrator must define the pesticide restriction sufficiently narrowly.

Counsel for Petitioner
Kenneth W. Weinstein
McKenna, Conner & Cuneo
1575 I St. NW, Washington DC 20005
(202) 789-7500

Counsel for Respondent
Marilyn Perry Jacobsen, Andrew G. Gordon
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M St. SW, Washington DC 20460
(202) 382-2090

Before RUBIN, KING, and GARWOOD, Circuit Judges.