High Court lets stand Clean Water Act permitting of pesiticides
Farm and Ranch February 25, 2010 The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a lower court ruling imposing Clean Water Act permitting requirements on the application of pesticides on, over, or near water. An appellate court had struck down a 2006 EPA ruling that allowed permit free pesticide use as long as label instructions were followed. The American Farm Bureau Federation was among those seeking a high court review of the case and Farm Bureau regulatory specialist Don Parrish says this decision deals a blow to the ability of farmers to protect the food supply from pests. Parrish: “Farmers have to make decisions very quickly not only for insects but for weeds and disease. Unfortunately this decision really does call into question the ability to do so under the terms we‘ve been doing in the past.” Parrish says the EPA permit process could be especially hard, depending on how broadly the agency interprets the law. Parrish: “As it stands right now EPA is not in the process of developing permits for crop protection tools. They are only developing permits for products that are going to be used over water.” Parrish says EPA is expected to propose a permit rule in April or May - and then finalize it by December - since under the lower court order - the program must take effect by April 11th of 2011. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
