Senate Seeks to Rectify Water/Pesticide Conundrum
A letter was sent to the U.S. Attorney General (J. Ashcroft) in late November that was signed by four ranking members of various Senate subcommittee
s. Included were: Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) - Forests and Public Land Management, Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) - Water and Power, Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) - Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water, and Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) - Energy and Natural Resources. The Senators are requesting that the Attorney General seek further review of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in League of Wilderness Defenders v. Forsgren (see Nov./Dec. 2002 issue of Chemically Speaking). The Senators are greatly concerned about the consequences of the ruling, that “will have serious ramifications for activities that are conducted on a routine basis throughout the country to protect public health by preventing the spread of pests, insects, and diseases.”
More than the ruling itself, which directly affects 628,000 acres of forest in the Northwest, the Senators are concerned about the precedent of the Circuit Court’s interpretation of the Clean Water Act that aerial application of pesticide in accordance with the label that has been approved by the EPA under FIFRA is a discharge from apoint source of a pollutant into waters of the U.S. and requires an NPDES permit. The Senators closed by stating that if the court’s opinion is left to stand, it is sure to foster considerable confusion, generate unfounded litigation, and cause unnecessary delay and expense to critical programs for the protection of forest, crop, and human health. The letter was also sent to the Administrator of the EPA and the Secretary of the USDA. Similar letters were sent by grower and aviation associations (Senate letter dated 11/21/02 & CropLife America Spotlight, 12/13/02).
