U.S. Water News Online
WASHINGTON -- After all the negative publicity generated a
month back by
environmental groups claiming midwestern municipal water supplies
were rife with
pesticides (see WATER QUALITY NEWS of September U.S. WATER NEWS
ONLINE), a more positive development has emerged with the U.S.
Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) agreeing with state agriculture officials on
a controversial
rule for certain pesticides in groundwater.
The proposed rule would require EPA-approved state management
plans (SMPs) for five
of the most commonly used pesticides: atrazine, simazine, cyanazine,
alachlor, and
metalachlor. The proposal has been forwarded by EPA to the Office of
Management
and Budget for further review. While state agriculture officials have
generally
opposed the limits on usage of the five pesticides, the SMPs are
still preferred over
outright banning of the pesticides in question. Before the latest
agreement was made,
state agriculture officials argued that costs were too high and more
time was needed
to develop control programs.
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