Environmental advocates warn that fewer formal complaints don’t signal progress — just frustration with a system that fails to hold violators accountable.
If the Illinois Department of Agriculture sees more complaints related to the herbicide dicamba this year, state agriculture officials worry lawmakers may consider banning its use altogether.
The emails – contained in more than 60 pages of documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act - show the companies often suggested how to deal with the complaints, sometimes without any solicitation from department officials.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided to allow use of the herbicide dicamba in 2018, but with safeguards, according to a report by Reuters.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture has received 368 complaints so far in 2017, which are more alleged pesticide misuse complaints than in the previous three years combined, according to a review of a statewide database of complaints by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
