Federal court denies EPA approval of controversial pesticide for Florida's citrus industry Karl Schneider, Naples Daily News FLORIDA CITRUS FACTS Replay Video UP NEXT A federal court on Monday rejected the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval to use a pesticide on Florida’s citrus groves citing the agency’s failure to comply with the Endangered Species Act. The Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Working Group and Farmworker Association of Florida filed the lawsuit in early April to stop the pesticide from being used on citrus groves in the state. “We needed the court to step in and say, ‘This was done faultily,’ and deny registration and that’s just what the court did,” Nathan Donley, with the Center for Biological Biodiversity said. “The (EPA) did not comply with the Endangered Species Act and admitted as much.”