NPDES Bill Passes House Committee on Agriculture

Last week, the House Committee on Agriculture approved H.R. 953, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. H.R. 953 would clarify that federal law does not require redundant, and unfairly burdensome National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for already regulated pesticide applications. H.R. 953 had bipartisan support in the Committee on Agriculture and has passed the Committee the past two Congresses. 

Thank you for the over 1,000 responses sent by NPMA members over the past week! Your voice certainly made a difference, but the fight is not over – we will need your support again on this issue.  H.R. 953 is now assigned to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee due to water jurisdiction.  We anticipate increased opposition in the T & I Committee and then the House floor.  We are also working with Senators to advance H.R. 953’s Senate counterpart S. 340.  

In addition to H.R. 953, another important bill, related to pesticide registration fees also passed the House Committee on Agriculture yesterday.  H.R. 1029, the Pesticide Registration Enhancement Act, reauthorizes the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA). PRIA creates a more predictable and effective evaluation process for affected pesticide decisions by coupling the collection of fees with specific decision review periods. PRIA also promotes a shorter decision review period for reduced-risk pesticides. PRIA is vital to ensuring necessary funding is properly allocated to EPA Office of Pesticide Programs resulting in the availability of products for PMPs.