Recreational Fishing Alliance Contact: Jim Hutchinson, Jr. / 888-564-6732
For Immediate Release November 4, 2010
EPA DENIES PETITION SEEKING BAN ON LEAD FISHING TACKLE
RFA Members Successfully Weigh-In on Heavy-Metal Issue
(11/4/2010) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition calling for a ban on the manufacture, use and processing of lead in fishing gear.
In a letter to the petitioners, EPA indicated that the petitioners have not demonstrated that the requested rule is necessary to protect against an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The letter further indicates that the increasing number of limitations on the use of lead fishing gear on some federal and state lands, as well as various education and outreach activities, call into question whether a national ban on lead in fishing gear would be the least burdensome, adequately protective approach to address the concern, as called for under TSCA. EPA's letter also notes that the prevalence of non-lead alternatives in the marketplace continues to increase.
"We're happy that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and her staff have denied this lead ban petition, there was really no justification for it to begin with," said Jim Donofrio, Executive Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA). "If this petition had moved forward, it could've had a devastating impact on our coastal fishing industry."
