The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) released a news release yesterday in which the AFBF announces the leading agriculture organization has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, “asking the high court to review a lower court ruling that will otherwise impose Clean Water Act permitting requirements on the application of pesticides on, over or near water.”AFBF President Bob Stallman states in the release, “Allowing the lower court ruling to stand would pose serious challenges to farmers battling pests . . .any length of time waiting for permit approval for products that are already approved would be disastrous [in the case of a pest outbreak].” In January the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a previous Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that the Clean Water Act did not regulate pesticide application “into, over, or near ‘waters of the United States’” as long as EPA labeling requirements were followed.
The Sixth Circuit ruled in “National Cotton Council v. EPA” that the EPA must require Clean Water Act permits when pesticides are being applied in a manner that they could get into the water. “The court recognized only a very narrow exception for chemical pesticides intentionally applied to water that leave no ‘residue’ after their use is complete.” It is this ruling that the AFBF wants reviewed.
The AFBF argues in its petition the EPA rule merely “formalized how EPA and Congress have always addressed environmental regulation or pesticide use.” AFBF general counsel Julie Anna Potts argues in the news release that ‘“This court opinion dramatically changes the scope of the Clean Water Act and will force farmers, public health agencies, and many others into burdensome, time-consuming, and costly permitting requirements that could seriously impair their ability to use pesticides to protect croplands and public health.”’
It remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court will grant the AFBF the right to have the court review the case.
To read the AFBF news release click here.
Posted: 11/04/09
