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    • EPA Fines Israeli Company for Delivering Herbicide to Savannah Port
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    EPA Fines Israeli Company for Delivering Herbicide to Savannah Port

    Vaseline Posted on

    An Israeli company faces thousands of dollars in federal fines for importing an unauthorized herbicide into the port of Savannah, despite the fact that the product was later approved for use in the states it was shipped to, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.

    Two shipments of nearly 88,000 pounds of metamitron, a chemical compound used to protect sugar beets from a particularly nasty, invasive weed, were delivered to the port in December 2023, the EPA said in a July 8 consent order.

    That notice to the company, Adama Ltd., came just two days before the EPA approved an emergency exemption allowing use of the compound in Colorado and Nebraska — the exact states where the illegal shipments were headed.

    “Upon arrival of the two shipments of metamitron on December 5, 2023, the … emergency exemption had not yet been issued,” the agency explained in its July 8 order. “Therefore, the products did not comply (with federal law).”

    Agriculture officials in Colorado and Nebraska have requested emergency approval for the use of metamitron on sugar beets to control a weed known as Palmer Amaranth, which has developed resistance to many herbicides.

    “The departments stated that significant economic losses would be incurred without adequate control of this weed,” the Nebraska Farm Bureau noted this week. “EPA determined that emergency conditions exist and authorized specific exemptions through Dec. 31, 2027.”

    Climate impact: Report reveals pollution levels and climate-warming emissions at Port of Savannah

    In April of this year, Adama announced the launch of a metamitron-based product for use in Nebraska and Colorado, with the company having received “an emergency exemption in 2024” from the EPA.

    A company spokeswoman said this week that “timing is the context that matters most” in understanding the agreement between Adama and the EPA regarding the supply of the product.

    However, she did not provide further information about the situation.

    Adama, which reported revenue of $4.7 billion in 2023, operates in more than 100 countries, according to the company’s website. Its U.S. operations are based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

    The Port of Savannah, the largest single-terminal port in North America, and the Georgia Ports Authority were not part of the EPA’s investigation.

    John Deem writes about climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. He can be reached at 912-652-0213 or [email protected].

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