S-1500 : Still Just a Bill

Sensible Environmental Protection Act of 2015

This bill amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a state from requiring a permit under the Clean Water Act for a discharge from a point source into navigable waters of:

• a pesticide authorized for sale, distribution, or use under FIFRA, or
• a residue resulting from the application of the pesticide.

Point source pollution is waste discharged from a distinct place, such as a pipe, channel, and tunnel.

The EPA or a state may require a permit for the following discharges containing a pesticide:

• a discharge resulting from the application of a pesticide in violation of FIFRA that is relevant to protecting water quality, if the discharge would not have occurred without the violation, or if the amount of pesticide or residue contained in the discharge is greater than would have occurred without the violation;
• a stormwater discharge regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES); and
• a discharge of manufacturing or industrial effluent (wastewater), treatment works effluent, or a discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, including discharges from ballast water operations or vessel biofouling prevention.