The U.S. government can keep using chemical retardant dropped from aircraft to fight wildfires, despite finding that the practice pollutes streams in western states in violation of federal law, a judge ruled.
Halting the use of the red slurry material could have resulted in greater environmental damage from wildfires, said U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula, Montana.
More than 200 loads of retardant got into waterways over the past decade. Federal officials say those situations usually occurred by mistake and in less than 1% of the thousands of loads annually. Fire retardant is a specialized mixture of water and chemicals including inorganic fertilizers or salts. It's designed to alter the way fire burns, making blazes less intense and slowing their advance.
Christensen said stopping the use of fire retardant would "conceivably result in greater harm from wildfires - including to human life and property and to the environment." The judge said his ruling was limited to 10 western states where members of the plaintiff's group alleged harm from pollution into waterways that they use.
"The Forest Service is working diligently with the Environmental Protection Agency on a general permit for aerially delivered retardant that will allow us to continue using wildfire retardant to protect homes and communities," Muehlhof said.
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