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NPDES Permit Rules Threaten Mosquito Control

The nation’s highest court has declined to hear an appeal of a Sixth Circuit Court ruling that could force mosquito control operations in the United States to follow stringent permitting rules under the Clean Water Act (CWA)

At issue is an early 2009 appeals court decision that CWA regulations pertain to applications of pesticides in and around water. If he regulations are implemented, according to Joe Conlon, technical advisor for the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA), mosquito control professionals will face a host of major issues-including the threat of lawsuits that could bankrupt many districts.

The EPA is developing a new NPDES general permit, with an implementation date set for April 9, 2011. The agency is scheduled to issue a draft version in late April this year, Conlon said. “We will need our members to remain involved in the process, and to get their comments to the EPA so that we have a broad-based response that encourages the best final case.”

The AMCA has provided extensive information and data to those charged with drafting the document to ensure its accuracy. The AMCA also produced a “Best Management Practices” document for integrated mosquito management, with the hope that the EPA “will take it to heart’ as it finalizes the permit language. The organization also will address the NPDES issue at its 76th annual meeting during a plenary session and in a special symposium devoted to the topic.

There’s a significant downside if mosquito control operations are forced to obtain NPDES permits.

“The EPA itself estimates there would be 365,000 applicators making more than 5.6 million applications that would fall under the new permitting requirements,” Conlon said. “That’s double what there is now, and no agency is equipped to handle that. Because of the time-sensitive nature of pesticide applications, the resulting delays will impede control programs and jeopardize public health.”

Even more chilling, however, is the threat of litigation by environmental groups, Conlon said. Since the Sixth Circuit issued its decision, 21 mosquito control agencies in California alone have been served by environmental groups with ‘intent to sue’ notices for alleged CWA violations, he noted. “The cost of defending litigation and the risk of fines and liability for plaintiffs’ legal fees will cause many agencies to abandon mosquito control activities or risk bankruptcy.”