Agriculture
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January 7, 2021
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a memorandum on Wednesday in the Southern District of New York, opposing the preliminary injunction and stay extension against its final rule, which multiple states and farmworker advocacy organizations have alleged increases the risk of exposure to pesticides for farmworkers. The lawsuit specifically challenges the rule’s alterations to Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) requirements allowing farmworkers to be working near the application of pesticides.
The EPA argued that their rule is consistent with the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and asserted that the court should lift the restraining order against the final rule and not extend the stay. A hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled on Friday to determine if the restraining order and stay will continue or be lifted.