The
dicamba controversy is heating up as litigation continues in circuit court on whether to allow extended application of the herbicide this growing season.
Two lawsuits, now consolidated, are challenging a state Plant Board vote to extend the application of the herbicide from May 25 to June 30, with narrower no-spray zones. J
udge Chip Welch, who now has the cases, has issued an order preventing the new rule from taking effect until June 10. The board membership that approved the new rule has been held partially unconstitutional.
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So there’s all that.
Yesterday, plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits, filed a motion seeking a finding of contempt against a Blytheville farmer, Tom Burnham, for reportedly planning to ignore the court temporary restraining order. The motion outlines his reported response to Plant Board’s notice of the restraining order:
Editor s Note: This story, first posted on May 4, is being updated as litigation in Arkansas has changed the legal status of dicamba herbicides in that state. DTN will continue to post updates as the situation evolves.
LITTLE ROCK – On May 24, 2021, the 16
th Division of the Pulaski County Circuit Court ruled that a temporary restraining order issued on May 21 delaying implementation of the 2021 amendments to the State Plant Board’s dicamba rule would be extended until June 10, 2021, at which time another hearing will be held. As a result of the temporary restraining order, the previous State Plant Board Rules on Pesticide Classification regarding dicamba remain in effect and include the following:
In-crop application of dicamba shall be prohibited after May 25.
A one-mile buffer in all directions must be maintained between the fields where dicamba is applied and research stations operated by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Extended use of the controversial herbicide dicamba was approved by the Arkansas Plant Board earlier this year, but has now been stopped, at least temporarily, according to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.
The 16th Division of the Pulaski County Circuit Court issued a temporary restraining order issued delaying implementation of the 2021 amendments to the State Plant Board’s dicamba rule extending use until June 10, at which time another hearing will be held. As a result of the temporary restraining order, the previous State Plant Board rules on pesticide classification regarding dicamba remain in effect and include the following.
In-crop application of dicamba shall be prohibited after May 25. A one-mile buffer in all directions must be maintained between the fields where dicamba is applied and research stations operated by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Final Call News
In this April 18, 2017, fi le photo, Ledell Lee appears in Pulaski County Circuit Court for a hearing in which lawyers argued to stop his execution. Two
groups sued a central Arkansas city on Jan. 23, 2020, seeking the release of evidence they say could exonerate Lee who was executed nearly three
years ago. Benjamin Krain/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP
Opponents of capital punishment have long argued that that the practice, while arbitrary and random, disproportionately affects Blacks, the poor and those unable to afford adequate legal counsel.
Most are greatly concerned that too many innocent people have been put to death by what they describe as a racist, classist, deeply flawed criminal justice apparatus. Those concerns are borne out by data culled by The Innocence Project which indicates that to date, 375 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing, including 21 who served time on death row. These incarcerated individuals served a