Wednesday, March 30, 2011

ADEQ Suspends Issuance of General Pesticide Permit For Arizona

On February 25, 2011, ADEQ issued its draft Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP) for public comment. The public comment period closed on March 29, 2011. Subsequently, EPA and others petitioned the US Court of Appeals for an extension of the April 9, 2011 permit effective date deadline. On March 28, 2011 the court granted the petition delaying the date by which PGP coverage will be required until October 31, 2011.

According to the most recent information provided by EPA, the final federal PGP will be published on approximately July 30, 2011, allowing sufficient time for States to align final federal permit requirements with their State general permit in advance of the new October 31, 2011 permit effective date.

As a result, ADEQ has decided to suspend further AZPDES PGP issuance activities. Upon issuance of the final federal PGP, ADEQ plans to review and evaluate all comments received during the ADEQ comment period and consider whether revisions to the prior issued draft AZPDES PGP are appropriate.

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