Last week NAAA submitted comments on the EPA’s proposed reissuance of a five-year National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP) that covers pesticide applications over aquatic areas. This is the third five-year reissuance of the EPA’s NPDES-PGP. The first was issued in 2016, five years after the initial PGP went into effect in 2011. The second was issued in 2021; the current proposal is for 2026.

 

The vast majority of the proposed 2026 PGP was identical to the 2021 version. Accordingly, NAAA’s comments were similar to earlier comments and touched on the redundancy of the PGP, considering that all pesticides, including those for aquatic sites, already undergo a registration and then a registration review process to verify their safety to the environment when used according to label directions. NAAA commented again that the definition of water of the U.S. (WOTUS) continues to be an ongoing issue that can lead to confusion for both the regulated and the regulators.

 

One key change in the proposed 2026 PGP is the addition of Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) areas of concern for endangered species. Earlier PGPs had only included National Marine Fishery Services (NMFS) endangered species resources of concern. NAAA did not object to this addition, but did point out that Endangered Species Act (ESA) requirements on the PGP are yet another redundancy considering EPA recent spate of efforts to address ESA issues in pesticide registration and review processes.

 

NAAA also expressed concerns about updated site monitoring and record keeping requirements, some of which fall on the applicator. NAAA pointed out these requirements have the potential to be overly burdensome to aerial application operations, many of which are small businesses. To view NAAA’s comments, click here.