National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

Permitting and Pesticides

Jeff FischerPermits Section

Water Resources Divisionfischerj1@michigan.gov; (517) 335-4188

rio.nmsu.edusouthernsportsmanaquaticsandland.com

History

• Pesticides as pollutants– November 27, 2006 CWA Interpretation– 2009 National Cotton Council, et al. v. EPA

• NPDES permits required• EPA response

– Ruling reasonable

– No appeal

– Two year stay of mandate

– Supreme Court review request

Pesticide Application Categories• Covered Pesticide Uses

– Mosquito and other flying insect control– Aquatic nuisance weed and algae control– Aquatic nuisance animal control– Forestry canopy pest control

• Outside scope of general permit– Terrestrial applications to control pests on forest floors and

agricultural crops– Adulticiding– Off-target spray drift

• Activities exempt under CWA– Irrigation return flow– Storm water runoff

pubs.usgs.gov

EPA Development Schedule

Court

Grant

s 2 ye

ar st

ay o

f man

date

EPA pro

pose

s dra

ft pe

rmit

Public

Com

men

t Per

iod E

nds

EPA finali

zatio

n of

gen

eral

perm

it

Man

date

Issu

es

June

200

9

June

4, 2

010

July

19,

2010

Decem

ber 2

010

April

9, 2

011

NPDES Permit Development

• EPA, Michigan, and other Region 5 States working together

• Stakeholder Involvement – Four meetings– Sub workgroups

• General Permits– Federal vs. State

• Notice of Intent• Certificate of Coverage

– State must be at least as restrictive as fed permit

DNRE Development Schedule

Court

Grant

s 2 ye

ar st

ay o

f man

date

EPA pro

pose

s dra

ft pe

rmit

Public

Com

men

t Per

iod E

nds

EPA finali

zatio

n of

gen

eral

perm

it

Issue

Cer

tifica

tes

June

200

9

June

4, 2

010

July

19,

2010

Decem

ber 2

010

April

9, 2

011

Augus

t 16,

201

0

Septe

mbe

r 30,

201

0

Octob

er 2

010

Novem

ber 2

010

3rd st

akeh

older

mee

ting

Final s

take

holde

r mee

ting

Public

Not

ice D

raft

Gener

al Per

mits

Public

Hea

ring

2nd st

akeh

older

mee

ting

July

28,

2010

1st s

take

holde

r mee

ting

June

, 11

201

0

Applic

ation

Tra

ining

Wor

ksho

p

Febru

ary

2011

DNRE issu

es g

ener

al pe

rmits

Novem

ber 2

009

DNRE Beg

in m

eetin

g int

erna

lly

Annual Treatment Area Thresholds

Pesticide Use Annual Threshold

Mosquitoes and other flying insect pest control 640 acres of treatment

Aquatic Nuisance Plant and algae control

In Water 20 acres of treatment

At Water’s Edge 20 linear Miles of treatment

Aquatic Nuisance Animal Control

In Water 20 acres of treatment

At Water’s Edge 20 linear Miles of treatment

Forest Canopy Pest Control 640 acres of canopy

Treatment Area CalculationsArea of applications made to: 1) water’s of the state of Michigan, and 2) conveyances with a hydrologic connection to surface waters of the state during the time of pesticide application.

For calculating annual treatment area totals,– Count each pesticide application as a separate activity.

Also, multiple treatments to the same area are considered as distinct pesticide application events.

• For example:– a 5-acre treatment area that is treated 4 times in one year

equals 20 acres of treatment area, and

– treating both sides of a ten mile ditch is equal to twenty miles of treatment area.

Permittee

• Decision-maker and/or person financially responsible, or person applying pesticides– Michigan approach – One permittee

– Clear division of responsibility• Written agreement between parties

• Applications Under threshold– Automatic coverage– No application required

Michigan’s Permitting Approach• Separate General Permit for each category

– Mosquito and flying insect pest control– Aquatic nuisance weed and algae– Aquatic nuisance animal– Forestry canopy pest control

• Acknowledge existing programs– FIFRA– Rule 97 certifications– Aquatic Nuisance Control – Part 33– Agriculture – Part 83– Reporting– Procedures

General Permit Requirements

• Components that make up General Permit– Discharge Limitations

– Integrated Pest Management Practices

– Pesticide Discharge Management Plan

– Record Keeping/Annual Report

• Adverse Incident Reporting

• No numeric limits

www.scerp.net

Discharge Limitations

• Minimize pesticide use

• Equipment maintenance/calibration

• Spill prevention

• Registered products

• Specific restrictions

• Listed pesticides

www.thefullwiki.org/Pesticide

Integrated Pest Management Practices

• Only required if exceed annual threshold• Identify species and contributing factors• Pest action threshold• Pre- and post-application surveillance• Select/implement effective pest

management• Compliance

– Pre-existing plans– Document implementation

www.dbw.ca.gov/Environmental/Aquatic.aspx

Pesticide Discharge Management Plan

• Only required if exceed annual threshold– Deadlines for development

• Documentation of limit implementation– Evaluation/selection of control measures– Does not contain limitations

• Division of duties – written agreement• Record retention• Modification

– Corrective action– updates

Record Keeping

• Required for all permittees– Minimal requirements if below threshold– Exceed threshold – more comprehensive

• Acknowledge other program requirements– Eliminate duplication

• Record retention– 3 years– Availablity

Annual Report• Required only if exceed annual threshold• Summary of pesticide application activities

– Treatment area Specific

• Submittal requirements– Can rely upon other documents to fulfill conditions of

reporting requirement

www.lakelandrs.com/Technical_Services.aspx plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/191

Requirement for Individual Permit

• Pesticide not listed

• Significant contributor to pollution• Outstanding state resource waters

• Impaired waters

• Permittee request

www.aaroncjors.com

Permit Application and Forms• Proposed Format

• Application Training Workshop• Tentative: February 10, 2011

Compliance• Paramount Issue

– Staffing and cost– Number of permits to process– Unsure of approach

• Rely on Existing Program Requirements• Adverse Incident Report• Corrective Action• EPA Guidance

– Expectations?

Current Status and Next Steps• Draft General Permits Completed• Public Notice

– 30 day comment period• Newspaper• DNRE website

– Concurrent Hearing Announcement• Continue Public Outreach• General Permit Issuance in December• Document Development

– Annual Report– Permit Application

• Issue Certificates of Coverage• Compliance

Questions?