Nebraska AG leads multi-state request to EPA for national chemical labeling rules

Nebraska’s Attorney General is part of an 11-state coalition requesting the Environmental Protection Agency to mandate nationwide labeling rules for agricultural chemicals.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said he filed a petition of rulemaking for the EPA because of a California law mandating that glyphosate, a popular herbicide, be labeled with a warning that it could cause cancer.

Hilgers said the claim is at odds with the EPA’s findings and was based on ideology, not science.

He said the patchwork of labeling requirements in different states raises manufacturing and legal costs for herbicide manufacturers, who then raise the prices for Nebraska corn and soybean farmers.

"We're concerned about other states injecting new labeling requirements that are not based on sound science, that we think are ideologically driven and only will create confusion in the marketplace, will increase costs in the marketplace, and potentially could have some of these products, over the long haul, be pulled out of being sold in various states, including Nebraska," he said.

Hilgers said the state could take the EPA to court if the agency declines to enact new rules.

Sen. Pete Ricketts thanked Hilgers for his request.

"California’s glyphosate labeling mandate is anti-science and anti-agriculture,” Ricketts said. “Far-left bureaucrats in one state shouldn’t be able to force their radical agenda on another state like Nebraska."