Conservation Group Sues EPA for Withholding Lobbyist Emails on Dicamba Reapproval

The Center for Biological Diversity brought a federal suit against the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, seeking all communications related to the 2025-2026 reapproval of the herbicide dicamba. The organization had submitted ten public-records requests for emails and memos between April 2025 and March 2026, but the EPA has not complied, claiming “unusual circumstances” and noting that some files are under review by the White House and the agency’s administrator.

The lawsuit focuses on former industry lobbyists—Kyle Kunkler, now deputy assistant administrator for pesticides, and Nancy Beck, a senior official in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention—who, together with deputy Lynn Dekleva, were involved in accelerating the dicamba assessment despite court rulings that the chemical’s drift harms crops, gardens, and wildlife. The plaintiffs contend that one outlet administration appointed these lobbyists to key EPA positions and is now concealing their role in a decision that affects millions of acres of soybeans and cotton.

The Center asks a judge to compel the EPA to produce the records within 30 days. The case highlights concerns over potential conflicts of interest in pesticide regulation.