EPA officials are downplaying prospects for a successful appeal of a ruling vacating EPA's rule exempting pesticide spraying from Clean Water Act (CWA) permit requirements, leaving permit writers and industry possibly subject to wide-ranging new permit requirements for pesticide spraying and potentially other agricultural activities. State officials are joining industry calls for the agency to appeal the Jan. 7 U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit's ruling in National Cotton Council, et al. v. EPA over concerns about the huge permit burden it may impose. But EPA officials at a March 4 conference in Alexandria, VA, said it was unclear whether courts will reconsider the ruling, adding that the agency has to consider what its options are in the event that the ruling stands.
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