Advocacy Groups Ask Court to Stop Planting of GE Crops in Wildlife Refuge
Three advocacy organizations have sued Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), charging them with violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for failing to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) before entering into contracts that allow farmers to cultivate genetically engineered (GE) crops at the Bombay Hook refuge in Delaware. Delaware Audubon Soc’y v. Salazar, No. 99-9999 (D. Del., filed March 1, 2010). The refuge reportedly spans 16,000 acres of mainly tidal marshes that provide habitat for many waterfowl species that attract birdwatchers.
Claiming that GE crops harm the environment by increasing the use of herbicides with adverse effects on soil, water, amphibians, and birds, and with the development of “superweeds” resistant to certain herbicide ingredients, the plaintiffs allege that defendants have repeatedly ignored legal obligations under NEPA to provide an environmental assessment or an EIS. The refuge has leased some 800 acres on which GE corn and soybeans have been planted.
The complaint alleges violations of NEPA and the Administrative Procedures Act and seeks declarations to that effect as well as “preliminary and injunctive relief barring Defendants from allowing any cultivation of GE crops at the Bombay Hook Refuge until compliance with NEPA is achieved.” Plaintiffs, whose members allegedly “live in, adjacent to or near, and/or enjoy the use of the Bombay Hook Refuge,” also seek costs and attorney’s fees. According to a news source, the groups decided to challenge GE cultivation at this refuge because in 2009 they won a similar suit involving the nearby Prime Hook refuge. The Widener Environmental & Natural Resources Law Clinic filed the complaint on behalf of the Delaware Audubon Society, Center for Food Safety and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. See Philadelphia
Inquirer, March 2, 2010.
