By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The pesticide industry and others are fighting back against a court ruling (see above article) that would make it more difficult for farmers to use pesticides.

According to CropLife America (CLA), the ruling could mean producers will have to get a special permit in order to use pesticides on their fields. “Essentially, they are attempting to limit the use of these (pesticide) products,” said Susan Helmick, a CLA spokeswoman.

Helmick said if the ruling is allowed to stand, it could mean individual producers will have to get a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit in order to use pesticides and that environmental groups could sue a farmer who didn’t get a permit before making an application.

Last month the CLA requested that the full U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals review the January decision. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reacted to the three-judge ruling by writing a letter to the EPA asking it to request a further review by the court.

“The court’s adverse decision will have profound implications for American farmers,” Vilsack wrote last March. “The panel’s ruling effectively broadens the potential application of the CWA (Clean Water Act) to reach agricultural activities that the EPA has never regulated under the provisions of the CWA. By broadening the Act’s reach, the court burdens American agriculture with a newly minted NPDES permit requirement ...”

Vilsack stated USDA agencies could be adversely affected. He said the U.S. Forest Service and the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) would have to acquire permits, “which could compromise the agencies’ ability to respond with efficiency and flexibility to emerging threats and emergency situations.”
One such program is APHIS’ Mormon cricket and grasshopper program, undertaken in cooperation with several Western states. Another is the Forest Service’s efforts at controlling pest infestations in national forests.

He also stated the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), whose research involves the use of conventional and experimental pesticides, would be negatively affected by the decision. He said the “time-consuming” process of acquiring a NPDES permit might cause some of ARS’ initiatives to be scrapped.

In response to the ruling the EPA asked that the decision be stayed for two years, but declined to join in a request to have it reviewed by the full court.

People involved in mosquito control also have a stake in the court’s decision. Joe Conlin, technical advisor for the American Mosquito Control Assoc., said it would give environmentalists a powerful new tool against anyone who uses pesticides.

“A lot of these county programs don’t have the resources to defend against these kinds of things,” he said. “It’s a real mess out there. I talk to people every day who do not want to have pesticides used at all.”