Oregon Public Broadcasting

Environmental and fishing groups say that when it comes to clearing pesticides out of Oregon rivers, the federal government is dragging its feet -- and that its failure to act is illegal.

A lawsuit filed Monday argues that federal fisheries’ managers have refused to follow a court order from five years ago to find ways to clean up rivers full of pesticides.

Under the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies are responsible for confronting threats to wildlife. This lawsuit alleges that the feds are not doing enough to protect threatened salmon against pesticides.

Aimee Code with the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides says her group didn’t sue as quickly as it could have.

Aimee Code: “We wanted to give the scientists the time they needed to insure that smart solutions could be imposed that would protect salmon, and provide easy transitions for homeowners that use pesticides, for agricultural users of pesticides. Instead of giving them time to to complete their work, there was a stagnation and nothing was happening.” The groups involved in the suit acknowledge that the EPA  has acted to share potential threats with the National Marine Fisheries’ Service. The suit takes aim at the fisheries service, which they say should have turned the research into action.