A coalition of environmental groups rebuffed by the
Environmental Protection Agency when it asked regulators to ban
lead used by hunters and anglers has filed a lawsuit against the
federal government.
Eric Barker
A coalition of environmental groups rebuffed by the Environmental Protection Agency when it asked regulators to ban lead used by hunters and anglers has filed a lawsuit against the federal government.
The suit seeks to force the agency to ban lead in hunting ammunition and fishing tackle.
“The EPA has the ability to protect America’s wildlife from ongoing preventable lead poisoning but continues to shirk its responsibility,” said Jeff Miller, conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The EPA’s failure to act is astonishing, given the mountain of scientific evidence about the dangers of lead to wildlife.”
The groups contend lead in hunting ammunition and fishing tackle is responsible for the death of 20 million birds and other animals each year and should be regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act. They also say lead alternatives are readily available in the marketplace.
Hunting and fishing industry leaders spoke out against the petition, saying the lead substitutes are too expensive and argued there is no need to ban lead.
The EPA in August dismissed the portion of the coalitions’s petition dealing with hunting, saying the agency was exempted by Congress from banning ammunition lead. Earlier this month, the agency said the petition dealing with fishing did not contain sufficient justification to warrant a national ban on lead tackle. The agency also said many states, such as Washington, are working to restrict the use of lead in fishing tackle in select areas where lead poisoning problems have been identified. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is considering banning lead sinkers in lakes where loons breed.
The groups counter the agency does have the authority under the Toxic Control Act to “regulate hazardous chemical components of ammunition such as lead.”
“The EPA has known for years it has the authority to regulate lead,” said Miller. “Lead shot (used for waterfowl hunting) was eliminated in 1991 by federal regulation to address widespread lead poisoning of ducks and secondary poisoning of bald eagles. And in 1994, the EPA even proposed banning lead fishing weights that were being eaten by waterfowl.”
The coalition includes the Center For Biological Diversity, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Project Gutpile, a hunting group.
