Administration seeks delay on pesticide ruling

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking a two-year delay to determine whether a family of widely used pesticides is harmful to endangered species.

The request filed before a federal judge comes after Dow Chemical Co. and two other pesticide makers asked the government to set aside research that shows organophosphates are harmful to 1,800 threatened or endangered species.

Under a 2014 legal agreement, the National Marine Fisheries Service is required to issue findings on three pesticides — chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion — by the end of this year.

The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for determining whether the pesticides are safe for people and wildlife.