AgroPages-House Democrats supports bill to roll back pesticide permits-Agricultural news

Rep. John Carney was one of 37 House Democrats who supported legislation last week to eliminate some permitting requirements for using registered pesticides near navigable waters.

Under the legislation, pesticide use would still be governed by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). But the bill would eliminate what proponents say are "duplicative regulatory hurdles," requiring permits for certain applications of pesticides under the Clean Water Act.

Carney said the additional permitting process “places a burden on our state agencies that prevent them from performing other important functions.” “For instance, a concern has been raised by state agencies that it will interfere with mosquito management, thus increasing the likelihood that mosquito-borne diseases will spread,” he said in a statement. “Moreover, Delaware farmers have told me that complying with this particular regulation will be especially disruptive and burdensome, given that they are already complying with the EPA’s established standards.”

The bill passed the House 267-161 on Thursday with all Republicans, including Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., voting in favor. But it is unlikely to advance this year in the Democrat-led Senate. Democrats say it would remove safeguards that protect human health and the environment.

"All this would do is make it harder to locate the sources of pesticide contamination in our nation’s rivers, lakes and streams and make accountability for these discharges even more difficult," Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., said during a floor speech.

Edwards said applying a FIFRA-approved pesticide in accordance with labeling requirements doesn’t guarantee protection of local water quality.

The legislation responds to a 2009 circuit court ruling that vacated an Environmental Protection Agency rule exempting applications of certain FIFRA-compliant pesticides from Clean Water Act permit requirements. Following the ruling, the EPA began requiring the permits.

"This extra permitting regime was not originally covered by the Clean Water Act until a recent court decision, and I do not believe the benefits of it outweigh the costs to public health and Delaware’s number one industry — agriculture," Carney said in his statement.