SUPREME COURT DENIES PESTICIDE CASE
News Date February 23, 2010
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to hear a case from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that would require Clean Water Act permits for pesticide applications in, over, or near water.
“We are disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear the case,” stated NASDA’s Executive Director Stephen Haterius. “We believe the case was wrongly decided and ignores important elements of other existing statutes, particularly the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which was specifically passed to regulate pesticides.”
In December, NASDA filed a brief along with the American Mosquito Control Association urging the Supreme Court to grant petitions to hear the case that were filed in November by CropLife America, the American Farm Bureau, and other agricultural organizations. NASDA’s brief argued that the Sixth Circuit’s decision not only jeopardizes public health by impeding the work of mosquito control districts, it ignores federal laws governing pesticide use, specifically FIFRA.
Also, NASDA’s brief emphasized that the decision would unduly burden farmers and state regulators. NASDA members, who are the lead pesticide regulators in most states, also requested the Sixth Circuit rehear the case in May. That request was denied.
“This decision by the Supreme Court imposes a series of redundant, unnecessary, and burdensome requirements on farmers and other pesticide users, exposing them to the threat of lawsuits under the Clean Water Act’s citizen action provisions,” explained Haterius. (By: Julie Adams, Contact: Nathan Bowen)