In letters sent to the leadership of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, National Association of Conservation Districts President Steve Robinson urged Congress to move forward on legislation that would ensure that farmers, ranchers and foresters can continue using pesticides in compliance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, without additional Clean Water Act permitting requirements.
In the letter Robinson wrote that when used in compliance with the EPA-approved label, FIFRA-registered pesticides have already been proven safe. Rather than spending precious time and resources on duplicative permitting efforts, EPA should instead be focused on working with landowners to support on-the-ground conservation solutions with true environmental value. Additional permitting process will only increase production costs and add stress on already overburdened state resources, without providing any additional environmental benefits.
According to Robinson, requiring additional permits could put landowners at risk of inadvertent CWA violations, resulting in fines of up to $37,500 per day.
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