II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1500 

To clarify Congressional intent regarding the regulation of the use of 

pesticides in or near navigable waters, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2015 

Mr. CRAPO (for himself, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. 

CARPER, Mr. COONS, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. ENZI, Mrs. FISCHER, Ms. 

HEITKAMP, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. MORAN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. ROBERTS, and 

Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To clarify Congressional intent regarding the regulation of 

the use of pesticides in or near navigable waters, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sensible Environ5 mental Protection Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. USE OF AUTHORIZED PESTICIDES; DISCHARGES OF 

2 PESTICIDES; REPORT. 

3 (a) USE OF AUTHORIZED PESTICIDES.—Section 3(f) 

4 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 

5 (7 U.S.C. 136a(f)) is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(5) USE OF AUTHORIZED PESTICIDES.—Ex8 cept as provided in section 402(s) of the Federal 

9 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342), the 

10 Administrator or a State shall not require a permit 

11 under that Act for a discharge from a point source 

12 into navigable waters of— 

13 ‘‘(A) a pesticide authorized for sale, dis14 tribution, or use under this Act; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the residue of the pesticide, resulting 

16 from the application of the pesticide.’’. 

17 (b) DISCHARGES OF PESTICIDES.—Section 402 of 

18 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) 

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(s) DISCHARGES OF PESTICIDES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) NO PERMIT REQUIREMENT.—Except as 

22 provided in paragraph (2), a permit shall not be re23 quired by the Administrator or a State under this 

24 Act for a discharge from a point source into navi25 gable waters of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a pesticide authorized for sale, dis2 tribution, or use under the Federal Insecticide, 

3 Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 

4 et seq.); or 

5 ‘‘(B) the residue of the pesticide, resulting 

6 from the application of the pesticide. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

8 apply to the following discharges of a pesticide or 

9 pesticide residue: 

10 ‘‘(A) A discharge resulting from the appli11 cation of a pesticide in violation of a provision 

12 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

13 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.) relevant 

14 to protecting water quality if— 

15 ‘‘(i) the discharge would not have oc16 curred without the violation; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) the amount of pesticide or pes18 ticide residue in the discharge is greater 

19 than would have occurred without the vio20 lation. 

21 ‘‘(B) Stormwater discharges subject to reg22 ulation under subsection (p). 

23 ‘‘(C) The following discharges subject to 

24 regulation under this section: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Manufacturing or industrial efflu2 ent. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Treatment works effluent. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Discharges incidental to the nor5 mal operation of a vessel, including a dis6 charge resulting from ballasting operations 

7 or vessel biofouling prevention.’’. 

8 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Envi10 ronmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the 

11 Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit a report to the Com12 mittee on Environment and Public Works and the Com13 mittee on Agriculture of the Senate and the Committee 

14 on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee 

15 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives that in16 cludes— 

17 (1) the status of intra-agency coordination be18 tween the Office of Water and the Office of Pes19 ticide Programs of the Environmental Protection 

20 Agency regarding streamlining information collec21 tion, standards of review, and data use relating to 

22 water quality impacts from the registration and use 

23 of pesticides; 


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1 (2) an analysis of the effectiveness of current 

2 regulatory actions relating to pesticide registration 

3 and use aimed at protecting water quality; and 

4 (3) any recommendations on how the Federal 

5 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 

6 U.S.C. 136 et seq.) can be modified to better protect 

7 water quality and human health. 

Æ 


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