The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule Thursday aimed at protecting honeybees by establishing temporary pesticide-free zones when certain plants are in bloom and when bees trucked in by professional beekeepers are present.
Farmers would only be banned from spraying pesticides on the leaf during the time the flower is in bloom and while bees are there, and would not be prevented from spraying pesticides on seeds or the ground. The rule wouldn't apply to residential use or home beekeeping either.
The proposal hopes to "create greater space between chemicals that are toxic to bees and the bees," Jim Jones, EPA's assistant administrator for chemical safety and pollution prevention, told The Associated Press.
The Center for Biological Diversity said while it's a step in the right direction, the proposal doesn't go far enough to protect bees.
"EPA is taking an important first step to protect commercial honeybees from toxic pesticide spraying," said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "This is a good start but there is much more to be done to protect our pollinators from the millions of pounds of insecticides used in this country every year."
One of the more concerning classes of insecticides the rule applies to are neonicotinoids, which are already banned in the European Union. A recent Harvard study concluded these relatively new chemicals are highly likely to be responsible for triggering colony collapse disorder in honeybee hives that were healthy before the arrival of winter. Though the agrichemical companies that produce these products insist mite infestations and other factors are to blame.
Burd said one shortfall with the proposal is that it does nothing about neonicotinoids used in seed treatments that are applied before the seed is planted.
"More than 100 million U.S. acres are planted with seeds drenched in bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides," said Burd. "Countless studies have linked these toxic seeds to declines in honeybees, bumblebees and solitary bee populations, and the EPA has found that they don't even provide any benefits to farmers. To save America's pollinators, the EPA needs to take the next step and immediately ban neonicotinoids, especially these poison seeds."
Over 1,000 other products involving 76 various chemical compounds would also be restricted by the EPA rule.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said earlier this month that honeybees had disappeared at extremely high rates in the past year.
"Losses of managed honeybee colonies hit 42.1 percent from April 2014 through April 2015, up from 34.2 percent for 2013-2014, and the second-highest annual loss to date," USDA said, according to Reuters.
Jones estimated that approximately 2-2.5 million acres of cropland will be affected by the new rules, which will be finalized after public comment, and if all goes according to plan, go into effect by spring 2016, Jones said, AP reported.
