11-16-23_Support Organic Land Management

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From: abraomorenimwen@everyactionadvocacy.com <abraomorenimwen@everyactionadvocacy.com> Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2023 6:53 AM To: 2Mayor <2MAYOR@riversideca.gov> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Please protect our health and environment by adopting policies that support organic land management! Dear Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, As shown by the recent court decision overturning EPA's attempt to cancel agricultural uses of chlorpyrifos, the pesticide regulatory process is broken and cannot protect people or the environment from the dangers of their use. As a result, we need policies at the state and local level that move towards organic land management in agriculture, communities, and homes. EPA's action to cancel all agricultural uses of chlorpyrifos was a rare instance when the agency took protective action. Required by a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in April 2021 to take action, EPA issued a final rule in August, 2021—in full effect February 28, 2022—after an earlier 9th Circuit decision, concluding that, "EPA is unable to conclude that the risk from aggregate exposure from the use of chlorpyrifos meets the safety standard of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). Accordingly, EPA is revoking all tolerances for chlorpyrifos." On November 3, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided to vacate EPA's 2021 decision to cancel all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos and sent it back to the agency. In other cases, EPA has avoided such litigation by taking more limited action. When the industry challenges EPA, the agency almost invariably capitulates, as in the case of paraquat, when EPA allowed an industry umbrella group dubbed the Agricultural Handler Exposure Task Force to correct its data risks posed to workers, resulting in the agency changing its position in months. The examples of this pattern are numerous, and even when EPA suspends the registration of a pesticide, removal from use is very slow because existing stocks are generally allowed to be sold. For example, EPA suspended the registration of the herbicide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA) (also widely known as Dacthal), effective August 22, 2023, leaving existing stocks (products containing DCPA manufactured before August 22) available on the market. History shows the failure of the "whack -a -mole" approach to pesticide regulation. Many communities are already adopting organic land management in parks, playing fields, and other public lands. Beyond Pesticides parners with major retailers like Natural Grocers and Stonyfield Organic, and dozens of communities in all regions of the country to see this vision come to life. Natural land care is becoming increasingly popular at the local level, with more and more communities looking to employ practices that protect workers, public health, pets, pollinators, and unique local environments that can be harmed by unnecessary pesticide use. At the same time, community leaders are increasingly challenged with staffing constraints and tight budgets. Beyond Pesticides' Parks for a Sustainable Future program aims to bridge these gaps, allowing communities to pilot the transition to organic land care on two public sites. Program pilot sites provide local land care officials the time needed to dial in new practices and work out any unexpected factors that may impede the move from conventional to organic land care. They send a message to residents that the community is taking meaningful action to protect their health and environment, at a lower 1