EPA’s Denial of Environmental Group’s Petition to Regulate Pesticide-Coated Seeds Backed by Federal Judge

Officials of the Agriculture Department on a tractor spraying pesticides to kill locusts as a farmer works in a field in Pipli Pahar village in Pakistan's central Punjab province on Feb. 23, 2020. Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images

A federal judge ruled on Thursday in favor of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation interpretation that supports the agency’s denial of a petition to register pesticide-coated seeds.

In a 34-page ruling, District Judge Susa Illston said the EPA’s analysis of its “Treated Articles Exemption”  is “reasonable and owed deference.”