Anti-EPA House Votes To Let Agribusiness Dump Pesticides In Our Water

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The Tea Party Congress doesn’t just hate EPA rules that protect against industry destroying our country with greenhouse pollution, mercury, coal ash, and mountaintop removal. By a veto-proof margin, the U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday to prohibit Clean Water Act limits on pesticide pollution of lakes, streams, and rivers. Lobbyists for industrial agriculture polluters cheered the 292-130 vote for H.R. 872, which “will amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Clean Water Act to clarify Congressional intent and eliminate the requirement for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for applications of pesticides approved for use under FIFRA.” The California agribusiness lobby Western Farmers Association praised the “practical, bipartisan example of eliminating government regulations that needlessly increase farm business costs“:

The measure would

bar the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring farmers or companies to comply with the Clean Water Act when using pesticides on or near water sources

. The bill’s supporters said pesticides are adequately regulated by other laws. The bill passed 292 to 130 on Thursday. The 130 negative votes came from Democrats. Fifty-seven Democrats joined 235 Republicans in supporting the bill, which has yet to see Senate action.

Clean Water rules against pesticide pollution are hardly “needless.” The waters that are home to fish and that feed our drinking water supply are being poisoned. Agribusiness uses hundreds of millions of pounds of FIFRA-approved pesticides like atrazine, metolachlor, cyanazine, alachlor, acetochlor, metribuzin, bentazon, and trifluralin a year. These pesticides, linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological disorders, are found in nearly every single stream in the United States.

Following a 2006 USGS report on the nearly ubiquitous pesticide contamination of our streams, rivers, and the fish that live in them, the EPA under Bush tried to establish a loophole-ridden rule that was thrown out by the courts. The EPA was given until April 9, 2011 to establish new rules, but was granted a delay until October 31 on Tuesday.

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/01/epa-dump-pesticides/

[Obama 2012 1,714]

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-872

Do you actually read bills before you post this #######?

That's not what the bill does at all.

[JohnSmith2007 353]

Jeez, your like a comic book. The evil GOP. They are out to destroy the world. When is the next Auston Powers movie staring the GOP as the evil villain due out? How can we take anything you post seriously?

[JohnSmith2007 353]

OMG! You should read the comments from the web site! Paranoia and hyperbole. They all sound like Steven!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

"Hitler is rolling over in his grave with jealousy that he didn't have the goose-stepping, compliant, murderous GOP to help him destroy the world."

"Who's going to protect us from republicans? We're going to end up with Tar Creek all over the country.

Is this a conspiracy to force Americans to drink bottled water?

Going to the US? Don't drink the water.

It seems they're racing us toward third world status. "

"This is the type of story the American people need to see more of----conservatives (maybe including some Dems) are in favor of polluting our water, our air, our food---anything. If there are pesticides on our fruits and vegetables, then they will just tell us we need to buy a product to scrub them. Tom DeLay was just a pesticide salesman who went into politics to stop government regulations on how much he could harm us. "

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[TBoneTX 45,324]

hyperbole

Hyperbole is the best thing ever, si man.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

OMG! You should read the comments from the web site! Paranoia and hyperbole. They all sound like Steven!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

"Hitler is rolling over in his grave with jealousy that he didn't have the goose-stepping, compliant, murderous GOP to help him destroy the world."

"Who's going to protect us from republicans? We're going to end up with Tar Creek all over the country.

Is this a conspiracy to force Americans to drink bottled water?

Going to the US? Don't drink the water.

It seems they're racing us toward third world status. "

"This is the type of story the American people need to see more of----conservatives (maybe including some Dems) are in favor of polluting our water, our air, our food---anything. If there are pesticides on our fruits and vegetables, then they will just tell us we need to buy a product to scrub them. Tom DeLay was just a pesticide salesman who went into politics to stop government regulations on how much he could harm us. "

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

funny isn't it?

Not one of them ( like Steven ) even bothered to read the bill.

All they read are the psychotic liberal think tank websites and don't venture into actual 'fact' vs. 'fiction.'

[Zero Sum 305]

We shouldn't bring up the word psychotic and not expect certain reactions...

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Fifty-seven Democrats joined 235 Republicans in supporting the bill

Why do you want to thwart the will of the people, Steven?

[JohnSmith2007 353]

Why do you want to thwart the will of the people, Steven?

The bill passed with bi-partisan support. The only partisan aspect of it was the opposition to it. Only the radical far LWN's thought it was wrong.

[mawilson 2,133]

That's not what the bill does at all.

What does it do?

[Obama 2012 1,714]

What does it do?

if you'd read the bill, it makes it some farmers don't have to get a permit for runoff from pesticides/fertilizers...

That's pretty much all it does.

It says that they must still be in compliance by using Federally approved fertilizers/pesticides, etc.

They can't just come in and spill random ####### into the water based on the 'law.'

[mawilson 2,133]

if you'd read the bill, it makes it some farmers don't have to get a permit for runoff from pesticides/fertilizers...

That's pretty much all it does.

It says that they must still be in compliance by using Federally approved fertilizers/pesticides, etc.

They can't just come in and spill random ####### into the water based on the 'law.'

So they can come in and spill Federally approved pesticides?

[Obama 2012 1,714]

So they can come in and spill Federally approved pesticides?

it's not like they can just run up to a river and dump ####### in...

The only thing the bill is doing is allowing run-off to happen without getting a 'permit' first.

The whole point in the Federally approved fertilizers/pesticides, is that they aren't dangerous (or as dangerous i suppose) to the soil/ground water supply...

[JohnSmith2007 353]

So they can come in and spill Federally approved pesticides?

Why would they want to spill pesticides? Have you seen the price of commercial pesticides? This just allows farmers to put pesticides on their fields that happen to be close to waterways. They still have to follow the myriad federal rules they always did, they just don't have to apply for yet one more permit. Talk to a farmer and ask them how much time and money they spend just complying with federal guidelines. They almost need to hire a specialist just to comply with the rules. It is worse than the IRS.

[mawilson 2,133]

Talk to a farmer and ask them how much time and money they spend just complying with federal guidelines.

Poor farmers - all those billions of dollars they receive in federal subsidies... it's hell.