On March 19 the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Agriculture approved by voice vote the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2015 (H.R. 897), intended to protect producers from duplicate regulations and permit requirements, according to a committee press release.
The bill would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA) to clarify congressional intent and eliminate the requirement of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the use
of pesticides already approved for use under FIFRA.
Both Georgia Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation support H.R. 897, introduced on Feb. 11 by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio). The bill addresses a 2009 decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which erroneously applied the provisions of the NPDES permitting process under the CWA to pesticide applications that were already fully regulated under FIFRA.
As a result of the ruling, many farmers, ranchers, water resource boards and public health professionals involved in mosquito control are subject to costly and duplicative burdens providing no quantifiable public health or environmental benefit.
"Costly and duplicative regulations and permitting requirements on farmers weaken the economy in rural America," said Committee Chairman Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas). "The money and time that farmers have to spend fulfilling redundant, unnecessary requirements is time and money that can be put to better, more productive use. Making pesticides readily accessible for use is crucial to efficiently protect our nation's food supply and natural resources. Correcting the erroneous court decision that created this duplicative process has been a priority for public health, water resources, and agricultural stakeholders."
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