EPA Holds Webcast on Draft NPDES Pesticides General Permit

On June 24, the EPA held a two-hour public meeting via webcast to discuss various aspects of the Draft NPDES Pesticides General Permit (PGP).  The draft PGP was published on June 4 and the EPA is accepting public comments on its content through July 19.

The webcast was hosted by Allison Wiedeman, Chief of the Rural Branch of the EPA’s Water Permits Division and EPA Project Team Leader Jack Faulk.  The webcast drew over 900 viewers and covered background information, including the court cases that lead to a need for the PGP, the schedule for the PGP’s comment and approval process, and the actual content of the PGP.

“We feel pretty good that we have a draft that’s close to a workable permit,” said Faulk, “but we know that there are still areas to be strengthened.”  In addition to the webcast, the EPA has hosted four live public meetings on the draft PGP, in Albuquerque (June 14), Boise (June 16), Boston (June 21), and Washington, DC (June 23).

The EPA is specifically requesting comments on the number and nature of activities covered, sharing of responsibilities for meeting permit requirements, notices of intent, technology-based effluent limits, water-quality based effluent limits, monitoring, and annual reports.

After the public comment period ends on July 19, the next steps will be issuance of the final permit (December 2010), EPA outreach (January-April 2011), and the deadline by which permits are required (April 10, 2011).

The Federal Register notice, draft PGP, a Permit Fact Sheet, and additional background information are all available on the EPA’s website here.  The webcast itself will be available on the site June 29.