Yay, 9th Circuit`

The. U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the Environmental Protection Agency’s unconditional registration of the pesticide sulfoxaflor, and ordered the EPA to obtain further studies and data regarding the effects of sulfoxaflor on bees, as required by EPA’s own regulations.

“Because the EPA’s decision to unconditionally register sulfoxaflor was based on flawed and limited data, we conclude that the unconditional approval was not supported by substantial evidence,” says the opinion.

Commercial bee keepers and bee keeping organizations challenged the EPA’s approval of insecticides containing sulfoxaflor, which initial studies showed were highly toxic to bees.

Given the precariousness of bee populations, leaving the EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor in place risked more potential environmental harm than vacating it, the court says.