Ag groups cheer House passage of pesticide bill
Farm and Ranch April 4, 2011 The U.S. House voted last week 292 to 130 to block the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing new court-ordered pesticide application permits under the Clean Water Act. Crop protection chemicals are already regulated under another federal law. Nearly 60 Democrats joined all Republicans in support of this bill. Tyler Wemeyer, a regulatory specialist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, says it was quite a victory. Wegmeyer: “We are extremely pleased. It is a priority issue for the American Farm Bureau to pass this legislation, HRH 872. And to have it pass the full House of Representatives by greater than 292 members supporting it is a huge achievement.” Wegmeyer acknowledges the greater challenge is getting such legislation through the Senate.” Wegmeyer: “We think there is going to be a bill introduced in the Senate very shortly. But it is more controversial in the Senate, no doubt about it. Any time you are amending the Clean Water Act you are going to get the attention of the Environment Public Works Committee chaired by Senator Boxer. And they are going to put up some red flags. And we are just going to have to find a way around it in order to be successful passing it over in the Senate.” The National Association of Wheat Growers also stated it was pleased with House passage of legislation and says it will continue to work the issue in the Senate. The EPA originally was supposed to begin this permitting system next week but a federal appeals court granted the agency an extension until October 31st. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.
