The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) recently filed a 60-day notice of its intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its approval of more than 300 pesticides containing pyrethroid, a toxic chemical that is potentially harmful to endangered species.

The lawsuit, which requires a notice period established by the Endangered Species Act, alleges the EPA has not considered the harm pyrethroid could cause to endangered plants and animals, a Jan. 6 CBD press release said.

“The EPA admits pyrethroids’ wide-ranging harm to wildlife but still rubberstamps hundreds of pesticide products containing them without assessing their risks to endangered species,” Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at CBD, said in the release. “The EPA needs to get serious and come up with a comprehensive plan to address the havoc these pesticides are wreaking on the environment.”

CBD requests that the EPA engages in talks during the notice period “to discuss the development of a comprehensive workplan to address the backlog of pesticides that have not undergone consultations as required,” the notice of intent said.

The notice also highlights a proposed work plan sent to the EPA on Aug. 21, 2021, that addresses risks to endangered species from pesticides, adding that its implementation “would have spurred the EPA to create a more efficient and effective process for deploying on-the-ground conservation measures.”

“We’ll see if the Biden EPA can muster the political will to finally follow the law, or if it will just continue throwing endangered species under the bus,” Burd said in the release. “For decades the pesticide industry has called the shots for the EPA, but as the extinction crisis worsens we’re hoping this administration will finally provide the leadership our most imperiled plants and animals need to survive.”