NCFC says bill is needed to ease access to pesticide permits

The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) said a proposed law is needed to cut both the costs and paperwork necessary to get permits to use pesticides.

The House Agriculture Committee approved H.R. 897, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2015, on March 19. The bill, introduced by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), would get rid of the duplicative pesticide permitting requirements that affect thousands of farms, small businesses and local governments. The NCFC said the burden is the result of a 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the National Cotton Council v. EPA case.

“The House Agriculture Committee took an important first step today to resolve the mess created by a misguided and poorly reasoned court decision nearly a decade ago,” NCFC President and CEO Chuck Conner said. “It is long past time to apply a bit of common sense and plain reading of current statutes to ensure that American farmers will not continue to face duplicative and burdensome regulations that provide no environmental benefits. The House of Representatives and Congressman Gibbs in particular have been champions in this effort both in this Congress and last; our hope is that the full House will move on the bill in short order.”