"EPA Will Limit Pesticides Near Salmon Streams"

"GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday it will impose restrictions on spraying three agricultural pesticides to keep them out of salmon streams after manufacturers refused to adopt the limits voluntarily.

EPA will develop new rules for applying the chemicals diazinon, malathion and chlorpyrifos that will include no-spray zones along streams and restrictions on spraying depending on weather conditions, EPA spokesman Dale Kemery said in an e-mail. There will also be requirements to report dead fish.

Even at very low levels, the chemicals have been found by federal biologists to interfere with salmon's sense of smell, making it harder for them to find food, avoid predators and return to native waters to spawn.

The EPA action stems from a lawsuit filed by anti-pesticide groups in 2001."

Jeff Barnard reports for the Associated Press May 17, 2010.