WASHINGTON, DC — A number of people who study honey bees and other pollinators have been saying for a few years that the class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids are responsible, at least in part, for Colony Collapse Disorder, in which the bees from a large number of hives—up to 80% in some cases—die or disappear in the winter.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been studying the issue since 2011, and issued a press release on April 2, saying it is “unlikely to approve new outdoor neonictinoid pesticide uses,” which will limit new products containing the pesticides but does not cover products that are already on the market.

Critics of the pesticide say the move does not go far enough. The Center for Biodiversity issued a statement saying, “While supportive of the partial halt on new registrations, farm, beekeeper and environmental groups were disappointed that the action ignored the huge numbers of other bee-harming pesticides already on the market. EPA’s announcement likely foreshadows broader recommendations from the White House Pollinator Health Task Force, according to the groups.”

“EPA has finally admitted it lacks the basic data needed to determine whether bees, other pollinators, or the environment will be adversely affected by neonicotinoids,” said Peter Jenkins, attorney for the Center for Food Safety. “If EPA is unable to assess the safety of new uses, the agency similarly is not able to assess the safety of the close to 100 outdoor uses already approved. In view of its admissions, EPA has no option under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act other than to suspend the existing uses, as well as follow through with its moratorium on the proposed new uses.”

The move from the EPA came a day after the City Commission in Portland, OR suspended the use of neonicotinoids in the city. At least eight municipalities in the United States have banned the pesticides.

There is pressure from companies that manufacture the pesticides not to let the EPA go too far in regulating the various products that contain them. On the same day the EPA issued its press release, a group of 11 Republican senators and one Democratic senator sent a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The letter said, “We have concerns about reports that the agency may be planning to regulate some pesticides, particularly neonicotinoid products, without sufficient understanding of all the environmental stressors facing pollinators.”

The letter says, “Neonicotinoid products are an important component of modern agriculture techniques, which have helped American farmers increase productivity, improve cost-competitiveness and continue to produce safe, nutritious food for the world.”

Three companies that produce neonicotinoids commissioned a study that says that if neonicotinoids were to be banned in the United States, the cost to U.S. consumers would amount about $4 billion per year in increased prices for fruit and produce.

The European Commission adopted a proposal to restrict the use of three pesticides containing neonicotinoids (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam) for a period of two years beginning in December 2013.

The move was in response to the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) scientific report, which identified “high acute risks” for bees from exposure to pesticide dust in crops such as corn, cereals and sunflowers, and as residues in pollen and nectar other plants.