Regulating pesticide applications under the Clean Water Act
Farm and Ranch December 7, 2009 A federal court decision that has the Environmental Protection Agency developing a permitting system for pesticide applications on or near water has farmers concerned that nearly all crop chemical applications will need a Clean Water Act permit. Jim Werntz, Director of the EPA’s Idaho office spoke at last week’s Oregon/Idaho Grains Conference and there and in an interview, said no, not every application will require a permit. Werntz: “No. No. Absolutely but it is a really significant change and one that is of great concern. We want to make this be a workable, practical system. It is going to be really different because a lot of people who have applied pesticides in the past have not been regulated in the way they are going to be regulated either by EPA or by there state. There is a distinction there I would like to make too is in Idaho the EPA runs the Clean Water Act permitting program so we are going to have the responsibility across Idaho on tribal lands on state land, to implement this program. In Oregon and Washington that will be the state Department of Ecology in Washington and the state DEQ in Oregon that will need to develop this program and framework to meet this court mandate.” The decision requiring the Clean Water Act permits is being appealed, but Werntz says the EPA can’t wait and has to move forward so the agency can meet the court mandated implementation deadline of April 2011. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
