Washington—Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) Chairman Billy Pirkle testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on July 19, addressing what ARA described as “unnecessary and burdensome regulations” that are the result of recent actions by the U.S. EPA. Pirkle, who also serves as the senior director for Environmental, Health and Safety for Crop Production Services (CPS), cited EPA Region 4’s decision to issue citations to agricultural retail facilities for failing to report when fertilizer was blended at the facility under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). Pirkle said the EPCRA statute applies to fertilizer manufacturers only, and specifically exempts “fertilizer held for sale by a retailer to the ultimate consumer.” He said that if a retailer had to meet all EPCRA reporting requirements plus the permitting requirements under other environmental laws, it could cost an additional $30,000 per year, plus a $6,000 annual update. “Nearly all agricultural retailers custom blend types of fertilizer at the retail site for farmer customers because farmers do not have the equipment to blend in the field,” he said. “Furthermore, blending fertilizer is a different process than manufacturing fertilizer.” Another key issue Pirkle addressed was the requirement that pesticide applicators obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to conduct any pesticide applications. Pirkle said this is unnecessary since pesticides are already evaluated thoroughly by EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Pirkle noted as well that the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act (H.R. 872), which has been introduced as part of the House version of the Farm Bill, would exempt FIFRA-compliant pesticide applications from CWA permitting requirements. Other examples of regulatory overreach cited by Pirkle include EPA’s proposed spray drift guidance document that changes the legal standard found in FIFRA to an essentially zero-tolerance spray drift standard; EPA’s proposed guidance document to expand jurisdiction of the CWA without obtaining the necessary statutory changes or going through the formal rule making process; numeric nutrient criteria regulations in Florida, the Mississippi River Basin, and the Chesapeake Bay; dust regulation in the agriculture industry; and Greenhouse Gas regulations and the increased compliance costs to the suppliers of agricultural retailers, which he said would be passed along to the retailer and farmer.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain