Full Breakdown
EPA lets Bayer pick its own dicamba mitigation rules
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event: EPA’s menu-style rulemaking with Bayer
Internal EPA documents reveal that the agency presented Bayer with a set of mitigation options for the weedkiller dicamba and asked the company to select the measures it preferred. Bayer chose the least restrictive volatility limit—allowing applications up to 95 °F with reduced treated acreage—and a runoff option not originally proposed by the agency. The agency then incorporated Bayer’s selections into a proposed federal rule, effectively granting the company its chosen safeguards.
Background & Context: Dicamba’s controversial history
Dicamba, first approved in 2016, is known for drift that can damage crops, orchards, gardens and wildlife refuges for miles beyond the target field. Courts have twice ordered the product off the market because of these drift problems, yet the EPA has re-approved it. Scientific assessments link dicamba exposure to liver cancer and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and experts describe its drift damage as the worst of any herbicide in U.S. agriculture.
Official Statements & Responses
Agency emails show a manager requesting Bayer’s feedback on mitigation choices, and internal records note that the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety was led by former industry lobbyist Nancy Beck. The agency also highlighted that top toxics-office positions are held by former chemical-industry executives, including deputy assistant administrator Kyle Kunkler, a former pesticide lobbyist.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The EPA is allowing Bayer to choose its preferred measures to limit dicamba’s damage as if it was ordering up a late-night dinner à la carte from Chili’s,” — Nathan Donley, environmental health science director with the Center for Biological Diversity
- “Make no mistake: this is not a compliance failure; it is the regulatory system working exactly as intended.” — Guardian, an EPA spokesperson
- “It is now undeniable that the EPA remains fully captured by a crooked collection of pesticide company players who so enthusiastically ignore the substantial losses of farmers and the federal courts who mandated a halt to dicamba use.” — Kelly Ryerson, advocate
- “In return for this egregiousness, I would like the EPA to propose a menu of options to Maha for significantly decreasing our exposure to known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors,” — Kelly Ryerson, advocate