[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 45 (Thursday, March 31, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REDUCING REGULATORY BURDENS ACT OF 2011

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 30, 2011

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I don't believe anyone in this House 
supports truly duplicative or redundant regulation--and we should all 
be prepared to eliminate the headache and expense of unnecessary red 
tape wherever we find it. But that's not what's happening here.
  In 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found in the 
National Cotton Council vs. EPA case that pesticides are pollutants 
whose discharge into our waterways is governed by the Clean Water Act. 
Today's legislation proposes to overturn that ruling and exempt 
pesticides from the Clean Water Act on the grounds that pesticides are 
already subject to registration under the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
  FIFRA registration is conditioned upon a finding that an approved 
pesticide ``will not generally cause unreasonable adverse affects on 
the environment''. While FIFRA registration weighs the costs and 
benefits of pesticide use nationally, it does not involve local 
assessments. For example, it does not consider whether a waterway is 
used for fishing or for swimming--or whether a waterway is already 
impaired. Indeed, with over 1000 waterways in the United States 
currently known to be impaired because of pesticide contamination, it 
is manifestly clear that FIFRA registration alone has not been 
sufficient to protect our nation's water.
  For that reason, while I support efficient and effective regulation, 
I do not believe that exempting pesticides from the Clean Water Act is 
the answer to making sure our citizens have access to clean water. I 
urge a no vote.

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