EPA just released a pre-publication copy of its 2016 Pesticide General Permit (PGP), which takes effect October 31, 2016. The new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit replaces the 2011 PGP that expired at midnight on October 31. The 2011 permit was issued in response to National Cotton Council of America. v. EPA, in which the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated EPA’s 2006 Final Rule on Aquatic Pesticides. The final 2016 permit will be published in the Federal Register in early November.
As with 2011 PGP, the permit applies to application of biological and chemical pesticides to Waters of the United State that have the following use patterns:
- Mosquito and Other Flying Insect Pest Control – to control public health/nuisance and other flying insect pests that develop or are present during a portion of their life cycle in or above standing or flowing water. Public health/nuisance and other flying insect pests in this use category include mosquitoes and black flies.
- Weed and Algae Pest Control – to control weeds, algae, and pathogens that are pests in water and at water’s edge, including ditches and/or canals.
- Animal Pest Control – to control animal pests in water and at water’s edge. Animal pests in this use category include fish, lampreys, insects, mollusks, and pathogens.
- Forest Canopy Pest Control – application of a pesticide to a forest canopy to control the population of a pest species (g., insect or pathogen) where, to target the pests effectively, a portion of the pesticide unavoidably will be applied over and deposited to water.
