McCaskill Bill to Eliminate Redundant Pesticide Regulations Clears Senate Committee

Press Release

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill's bipartisan legislation--which aims to eliminate redundant federal requirements for the regulation of standard pesticides--cleared a key Senate hurdle when it was approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

The Sensible Environmental Protection Act, which McCaskill introduced along with Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho, would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency or a state from requiring a Clean Water Act permit for pesticide use near water if the pesticide is already authorized for sale, distribution or use under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

"This redundant regulation is an extra burden for farmers and unnecessary for the protection of our environment," McCaskill said. "We must protect human health and the environment, but when we can achieve that goal with one permitting program it makes no sense to require farmers go through another whole permitting regime to achieve the same goal. This bill is a commonsense step toward a more efficient and effective process."

The bill has garnered wide bipartisan support, including Senators Tom Carper of Delaware, Chris Coons of Delaware, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, James Risch of Idaho, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Jerry Moran of Kansas, John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Boozman of Arkansas, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, David Vitter of Louisiana, and Deb Fischer of Nebraska.

McCaskill backed a similar bill in the previous Congress and worked to address the issue in an amendment to the 2012 Farm Bill. McCaskill also recently introduced the Federal Permitting Improvement Act, a bipartisan and widely-supported bill that would streamline and speed up the highly unpredictable and uncoordinated federal permitting process.

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