The Federal Register notice explains that this draft and eventual final permit have been developed in response to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Nation Cotton Council. v. EPA. In this decision, the court vacated an EPA ruling that excluded the application of pesticides to, over, or near, waters of the United States from permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.), if the application complied with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
The court gave EPA a "two-year stay" to allow for time to draft and implement the new permit. The stay will expire and the mandate will take effect on April 9, 2011.
The Pesticide General Permit (PGP) "regulates discharges to waters of the U.S. from the application of (1) biological pesticides, and (2) chemical pesticides that leave a residue." Pesticide use patterns that are covered under the PGP, according to the EPA overview, are "mosquito and other flying insect pesticide control, aquatic weed and algae control, aquatic nuisance animal control, and forest canopy pest control."
EPA is accepting comments on the draft PGP until July 19, 2010.
To read the Federal Register notice, click here.
To read the EPA overview information on the proposed PGP, click here.
For the draft PGP, click here.
For more information on the Clean Water Act, click here to visit the National Agricultural Law Center CWA Reading Room.
Posted: 07/12/2010
