WASHINGTON—On April 23, U.S. Senators Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced they would introduce a bipartisan bill to eliminate what they deem an unnecessary and costly Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation on pesticides. The Sensible Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) of 2013 is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators, including: Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), David Vitter (R-La.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.).
“This bill is not about whether pesticides should be regulated, but rather about eliminating a redundant regulation that provides little or no environmental or public health benefits, and imposes unnecessary burdens on our farmers, states and municipalities and other entities that use pesticides responsibly,” Hagen says. “I will continue working with my colleagues to eliminate redundant regulations that add unnecessary costs and create legal uncertainty during these difficult economic times.”
“A duplicative pesticide permitting system is a waste of taxpayer dollars that the federal government does not have to spend, and more importantly, hinders Idahoans’ ability to do business,” Crapo says. “Unneeded regulations only stifle an already struggling economy. Congress must provide relief to our local communities in order to kick-start job growth and economic prosperity.”
“Some people believe that we must choose between a cleaner environment and a stronger economy, but I couldn’t disagree more,” says Carper. “We can have robust environmental protections that don’t hamper the private sector’s ability to create jobs, as long as we’re smart about implementing them efficiently and effectively. In everything I do, I know I can do better — and the same is true of some federal regulations.”
For nearly 40 years, the EPA has implemented a comprehensive regulatory scheme for pesticide applications under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). According to the EPA, a new pesticide must undergo more than 100 different tests to characterize its potential risks to the environment and human and wildlife heath. A court decision forced EPA to begin requiring Clean Water Act permits for pesticides applied in, over, or near water. The new permitting system went into effect on Nov. 1, 2011.
SEPA clarifies that Clean Water Act permits are not required for pesticide applications in or near water. The bill also asks EPA to report back to Congress on whether the FIFRA process can be improved to better protect human health and the environment from pesticide applications.
EPA has estimated an additional 365,000 pesticide users — including farmers, ranchers, state agencies, cities, counties, mosquito control districts, water districts, pesticide applicators, and forest managers that perform 5.6 million pesticide applications annually — will be required to obtain Clean Water Act permits. This is nearly double the number of entities previously subject to permitting requirements —forcing states and localities to spend time and resources to comply with this regulation.
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