Cincinnati, OH—In 2004 and 2005, two of the largest blueberry companies in Maine agreed to stop the aerial spraying of pesticides in response to a notice of intent to sue served by NELC attorneys under the Clean Water Act.

Now, at the request of the pesticide industry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a rule designed to significantly curtail the use of the Clean Water Act to control pesticides. The EPA rule, issued on November 27, 2006, exempts the spraying of many types of pesticides into the waters of the United States from Clean Water Act permitting requirements .

Because the application of pesticides to lakes, streams, rivers, and bays can pose real risks to aquatic life, NELC lawyers have joined with other environmental and public health groups to challenge this rule in the federal courts.

A direct appeal of the rule is currently pending in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a parallel challenge to the rule is also pending in the United States District Court in San Francisco, Calif.

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