HR 872 Sign-On Letter
RE: Oppose HR 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act
Dear Representative:
On behalf of our organizations' millions of members, we urge you to support clean water by OPPOSING HR 872 when it gets brought to the House floor. This disastrous bill would pollute our waters with pesticides, which will have dire consequences for public health and the economy nationwide.
The proposed bill would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Clean Water Act to exempt discharges of pesticides to waterways from the Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. We strongly oppose HR 872 and call on you not to eliminate tools that keep toxic pesticides from polluting our waterways.
FIFRA regulates the sale and use of pesticides but does not provide protections tailored to the conditions in specific bodies of water. Relying only on that law would cause a dangerous vacuum in protecting human health and ecosystems. Pesticides discharged into our waterways harm aquatic life and contaminate drinking water supplies. The legislation seeks to undo an important 2009 federal appeals court ruling in National Cotton Council v. U.S. EPA, that found EPA's pesticide permitting under FIFRA insufficiently regulates pesticide users who discharge into waterways. The court ordered EPA to begin issuing permits under the water pollution law by April 9.
Because of this court decision, EPA has moved forward with a NPDES general permit for pesticides. By issuing a general permit, as opposed to having each individual discharger obtain a permit, EPA can provide timely and efficient coverage and simplify the permitting process for the majority of dischargers while protecting public health and water quality. The court decision provides needed protection for water quality.
Contrary to representations made by proponents of HR 872, existing agricultural exemptions in the Clean Water Act will remain. Irrigation return flows and agricultural stormwater runoff will not require NPDES permits, even when they contain pesticides.
This is a bill that will cause irreparable damage to our precious water resources. It will also cost significant resources to clean up the polluted waterways that will inevitably result.
We urge you to vote to support clean water by voting NO on HR 872 when it comes to the House floor for debate. Supporting HR 872 is a vote for DIRTY WATER.
Thank you for considering our views.
Sincerely,
Signatories
