Washington, DC
December 21, 2006
Syngenta Seeds, Inc., of
Golden Valley, Minnesota, has agreed to pay a $1.5 million
penalty to EPA for selling and distributing seed corn that
contained an unregistered genetically engineered pesticide
called Bt 10.
While the federal government has concluded that there are no
human health or environmental concerns with Bt 10 corn, it is
still illegal to distribute any pesticide not registered under
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
"This action shows that when a company violates the law by
distributing unapproved pesticides, EPA vigorously enforces the
law," said Granta Y. Nakayama, EPA's assistant administrator for
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Late in 2004, Syngenta disclosed to EPA that it may have
distributed the seed corn to the United States, Europe, and
South America. Immediately following the disclosure, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and EPA began an
investigation and evaluation that confirmed the distribution of
unregistered seed corn on over 1000 occasions. A penalty was
assessed by USDA and the company destroyed all the affected seed
under USDA supervision.
EPA filed today's settlement with its Environmental Appeals
Board (EAB). The EAB is the final EPA decision maker on permit,
enforcement, and other administrative appeals under all major
environmental statutes that the agency administers. If approved
by the Board, Syngenta will pay a penalty of $1.5 million.
SYNGENTA CONSENT AGREEMENT
Source:
www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/fifra/syngenta.html
Syngenta Seeds, Inc. of
Golden Valley, Minn., has agreed to pay a $1.5 million
penalty to EPA for selling and distributing seed corn that
contained an unregistered genetically engineered pesticide
called Bt 10.
While the federal
government has concluded that there are no human health or
environmental concerns with Bt 10 corn, it is still illegal
to distribute any pesticide not registered under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
"This action shows that
when a company violates the law by distributing unapproved
pesticides, EPA vigorously enforces the law," said Granta Y.
Nakayama, EPA's assistant administrator for Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance.
Late in 2004, Syngenta
disclosed to EPA that it may have distributed the seed corn
to the United States, Europe, and South America. Immediately
following the disclosure, U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and EPA
began an investigation and evaluation that confirmed the
distribution of unregistered seed corn on over 1000
occasions. A penalty was assessed by USDA and the company
destroyed all the affected seed under USDA supervision.
EPA filed today's
settlement with its Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). The
EAB is the final EPA decision maker on permit, enforcement,
and other administrative appeals under all major
environmental statutes that the agency administers. If
approved by the Board, Syngenta will pay a penalty of $1.5
million.
More information on the roles of USDA, EPA, and FDA in the
federal regulation of genetically engineered plants is available
at the United States Agencies Unified Biotechnology Web site:
http://usbiotechreg.nbii.gov/ |