Plaintiffs challenged EPA's 2016 denial of their 2015 petition to initiate special review for a horse contraceptive pesticide product (Zona-Stat-H), as arbitrary and capricious.
The court found that EPA’s petition denial was arbitrary and capricious in that it did not adequately respond to Plaintiff’s allegations based on 40 CFR 154.7(a)(6), which permits SR if the pesticide “[m]ay otherwise pose a risk to humans or to the environment which is of sufficient magnitude to merit” SR. The court also found it impermissible for EPA to defer to wild horse managers to determine whether and when to use Zona-Stat-H as a basis for considering the criteria in 40 CFR 154.7(a)(6), and remanded the case back to EPA.