Pest Management Professional, March 2014

Issues of the Day AMCA members discuss how their organization should address invasive species and NPDES Its not often the collective wisdom of thousands of years of industry experience and knowledge comes together to solve problems Conferences are one of the few places where that happens During the 80th annual American Mosquito Control Association AMCA conference in Seattle last month a group of mosquito control professionals MCPs put their combined expertise to several problems facing the industry Attendees took part in roundtable sessions to discuss how to deal with the invasive species issue and the diseases they bring The group also explored whether its lobbying arm should continue to pursue favorable wording regarding the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NPDES permitting requirement of the U S Clean Water Act CWA NPDES An AMCA position paper states Due to a court ruling in 2009 the U S Environmental Protection Agency or EPA and the states have instituted NPDES permits for the application of mosquito control pesticides EPA issued its General Pesticide NPDES permit on October 31 2011 The authorized states have issued similar permits The failure to obtain and comply by such a permit can subject MCPs to costly litigation through the citizen suit provisions of the CWA Angela Beehler District Manager of the Benton County Mosquito Control District in West Richland Wash led the discussion by explaining the state of the issue If youre putting a larvicide or adulticide where its considered a point source discharge and near waters of the U S you need a permit she says adding the AMCA S P O N S O R E D B Y legislative and regulatory committees wanted to say that one no longer needs permits but that didnt happen Because the jobs and permitting is difficult are we getting that message to the people who make the laws Restrictions dont usually get easier Beehler asked the attendees whether they want the AMCA continue to press the issue Whats the burden on your district she asked How much have you paid What type of equipment do you need Whats the burden on your organization tied to NPDES permitting Attendees discussed the issue before approaching microphones to express their thoughts One attendee said that in California its extremely expensive to comply with the NPDES permitting requirement because it takes three to four people several weeks to complete all the paperwork Theres also a water quality testing requirement Dr Roger Nasci chief of the Arboviral Diseases Branch in the Division of Vector Borne Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control Prevention CDC played devils advocate suggesting that abiding by minimum requirements isnt bad Its worth the investment The issue is the concerns addressed by NPDES are already covered in other legislation So MCPs are being doubly regulated Its not a bad thing to monitor water quality but the amount of work it takes is unreasonable said another attendee Perhaps theres a compromise somewhere in between There might be a need for the regulation but considering the absence of data that regulation might be unnecessary said an attendee Beehler asked whether the AMCA should continue its fight regarding NPDES language She asked for a vote of hands and the issue was decided when almost every hand in the room raised Continued page 10 www mypmp net Pest Management Professional March 2014 MM7