A new general Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for spraying pesticide on or near waters, once finalized, will replace the current five year-permit when it expires Oct. 31. The permit was proposed Jan. 26 by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.
The permit drafted by the EPA comes with the same conditions and requirements as the 2011 NPDES it will succeed. The permit requirement is effective in Idaho, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories except the Virgin Islands, all Indian lands except Maine, and at federal facilities in Delaware, Vermont, Colorado and Washington.
In the rest of the United States, states are free to adopt the general pesticide permit in final form from the EPA, or change it to meet their own needs. The EPA permit will apply to over 365,000 pesticide users across the country, and are intended to protect aquatic life which can be harmed by residual biological and chemical pesticides that make their way into waterways.
The EPA will seek comments on costs incurred by permit holders, but expects the burden to be minimal through March 11.
Legislation proposed in the House and Senate to ban this particular NPDES permit has the support of Republicans and some Democrats. In the Senate, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the Sensible Environmental Protection Act of 2015, which is awaiting full Senate consideration. A similar measure in the House, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act has been approved by the Agriculture Committee but is awaiting consideration by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee which oversees EPA’s Clean Water Act programs.