The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted a conditional registration for new uses of the herbicide dicamba, a Monsanto “agrochemical,” on genetically engineered (GE) cotton and GE soybean.

In a Final Registration document issued yesterday, the EPA discussed a number of considerations for the approval, including discussions of human health and environmental risks, along with benefits associated with the new uses. Per their study, the EPA classified Dicamba as “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” This determination was based on the lack of evidence of “carcinogenicity in mice and rats in the acid form when tested at adequate dose levels.”

Per Reuters, farmers have used dicamba for years to kill weeds ahead of planting, but until this decision, they could not use it on growing crops. Use of dicamba may also help with problems arising from weeds resistant to the pesticide glyphosate.

The EPA approval, however, was met with some criticism. Nathan Donley, a scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a press release, “Once again the EPA is allowing for staggering increases in pesticide use that will undoubtedly harm our nation’s most imperiled plants and animals. Iconic species like endangered whooping cranes are known to visit soybean fields, and now they’d be exposed to this toxic herbicide at levels they’ve never seen before.”

Reuters also notes that Monsanto is still awaiting an EPA ruling on its Roundup Xtend herbicide, a “glyphosate and dicamba blend.”