General Permit for Point Source Discharges to Waters of the State from the Application of Pesticides
Notice of Tentative Determination to Reissue a General Permit for Point Source Discharges to Waters of the State from the Application of Pesticides
1.0 Tentative Decision
The Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“Commissioner”, “Department” or “DEEP”) hereby gives notice of a tentative decision to reissue and administer the General Permit for Point Source Discharges to the Waters of the State from the Application of Pesticides (“Pesticides General Permit” or “General Permit”) under the authority of Section 22a- 430(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes authorizing discharges to surface waters.
2.0 Commissioner’s Findings
DEEP originally issued the first General Permit for Point Source Discharges to Waters of the State from the Application of Pesticides in 2012, in response to the January 7, 2009, decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth District in the case of the National Cotton Council of America, et. Al v. United States Environmental Protection Agency. The purpose of this General Permit is to protect the waters of the State from discharges associated with the application of pesticides to deal with insects, weeds, algae, animals, or other pests.
In accordance with applicable federal and state law, the Commissioner has made a tentative decision that discharges in accordance with, and authorized under the Pesticides General Permit would not cause pollution of the waters of the State. The proposed General Permit, if reissued, contains effluent limits, best management practices, and permit conditions established in accordance with Section 22a-430 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies necessary to protect the waters of the state.
Permittees are required to comply with all permit conditions and limitations of this General Permit.
The General Permit is effective on the date it is issued by the Commissioner and expires five (5) years after the issuance date.
3.0 General Permit Regulatory Conditions
3.1 The General Permit authorizes the discharges of pesticide applications to surface waters of the state of Connecticut. Any discharge of water, substance, or material into the waters of the state other than the ones specified in the General Permit are not authorized by this General Permit. Any entity which initiates, creates, originates, or maintains such and falls under the requirements of Section 4.1.2 must apply for approval under this General Permit, all other entities that fall into the activities listed in Section 4.1.1 of this General Permit are automatically covered and shall comply with the permit terms and conditions.
3.2 Proposed Administrative Changes
The proposed General Permit will no longer require the submittal of a registration form for all permittees. Permittees that fall within the activities listed in Section 4.1.1 of this General Permit will receive permit coverage automatically, provided that the permittee complies with all of the permit terms and conditions in the General Permit. Additionally, the following discharges that exceed numeric treatment thresholds specified in Section 4.1.1. are required to receive approval of a general permit registration:
• Applications of pesticides to State waters by water companies not required to be permitted
under Section 22a-66z of the Connecticut General Statutes;
• Applications of biopesticides for the control of aquatic pests not otherwise required to be
authorized under Section 22a-66z of Connecticut General Statutes; and
• Applications of pesticides at or near the shoreline of perennial or seasonal watercourses
within stormwater conveyances, or other areas that should be expected to result in the
incidental deposition of the pesticide to State waters.
The proposed General Permit has increased the scope of eligible activities to include the forest canopy pesticide use pattern.
3.3 Effluent Limitations & Best Management Practices
This General Permit includes requirements to follow water quality based effluent limitations and technology based effluent limitations, including best management practices to ensure that these effluent limitations are met.
New to this proposed General Permit are the requirements for visual monitoring during and post pesticide application. This monitoring is required to be documented and any adverse incidents are to be reported to DEEP.
Additionally, all permittees that are covered under this permit are required to create, maintain, and update as needed, a Pesticides Discharge Management Plan with Integrated Pest Management Plan components.
4.0 Commissioners Authority
The Commissioner is authorized to issue this General Permit pursuant to Sections 22a-430 and 22a-430b of the Connecticut General Statutes (CGS) and the Water Discharge Permit Regulations, Section 22a-430-3 and 22a-430-4 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. The Commissioner is authorized to require persons covered under this permit to obtain an individual permit pursuant to CGS Section 22a-430b.
5.0 Public Comment
Interested persons may obtain a copy of this public notice, the proposed General Permit and the General Permit fact sheet on the DEEP website at www.ct.gov/deep/publicnotices.. The General Permit materials are also available for inspection at the DEEP Bureau of Materials Management and Compliance Assurance, Water Permitting and Enforcement Division, 79 Elm Street, Hartford,CT from 8:30am – 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. Questions may be directed to Patrick Bieger at Patrick.bieger@ct.gov.
Prior to making a final decision on the proposed General Permit, the Commissioner shall consider written comments from interested persons that are received within thirty (30) days of this public
notice. Written comments should be directed to: Audra Dickson, Water Permitting and Enforcement Division, Bureau of Materials Management and Compliance Assurance, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-5127 or may be submitted via electronic mail to: Patrick Bieger at Patrick.bieger@ct.gov. Electronic mail is recommended.
6.0 Petitions for Public Hearing
The Commissioner may conduct a public hearing if the Commissioner determines that the public interest will be best served thereby or shall hold a hearing upon receipt of a petition signed by at least twenty-five persons. Petitions should include the name of the general permit noted above and also identify a contact person to receive notifications. Petitions may also identify a person who is authorized to engage in discussions regarding the proposed general permit and, if resolution is reached, withdraw the petition. Original signed petitions may be scanned and sent electronically to deep.adjudications@ct.gov or may be mailed or delivered to: DEEP Office of Adjudications, 79 Elm Street, 3rd floor, Hartford, CT 06106-5127. All petitions must be received within the comment period noted above. If submitted electronically, original signed petitions must also be mailed or delivered to the address above within ten days of electronic submittal. If a hearing is held, timely notice of such hearing will be published in a newspaper of general circulation.
/s/Emma Cimino
Deputy Commissioner
Published in the Hartford Courant, Waterbury Republican American, New Haven Register, New London Day, Connecticut Post and The Chronicle on April 19, 2024.