The U.S. Bureau of Land Management failed to properly consider environmental impacts when it approved a plan by P4 Production LLC, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, to develop a phosphate mine in Idaho in 2019, according to Bloomberg Law citing a lawsuit filed by environmental groups April 27.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians say the agency also failed to consider the mine’s impact on greater sage-grouse, which has seen a declining population in recent decade.
Phosphate from the mine will be used to produce Roundup, the lawsuit says. It noted that the U.S. EPA determined glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the product, is likely to adversely affect 93 percent of all threatened and endangered species.