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Monday, July 07, 2008

White House Blocks Effort to Clean Up Pesticide Containers

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has rejected an Environmental Protection Agency proposed rule that would encourage the recycling of pesticide containers. EPA has been mulling the proposal for at least a few years.

The rule would establish a national recycling program that would help ensure pesticide containers are rinsed out and properly disposed of. According to EPA, "The proposed regulation is intended to protect human health and the environment by promoting recycling of pesticide containers to reduce the risk of unreasonable adverse effects to public health and the environment that may be associated with certain nonrefillable pesticide containers and the associated residues."

But the White House has rejected the EPA proposal. In a July 3 letter to EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock, OIRA Administrator Susan Dudley takes exception to the proposal. Dudley says the rule would be too costly and criticizes the agency for not examining other regulatory alternatives.

In a lot of cases, White House interference of this sort can be connected to the wishes of regulated industries. But not this time. On June 25, Dudley and other OIRA staffers, along with EPA's pesticide office, met with CropLife America — the major trade association for the pesticide industry.

CropLife America is advocating in favor of the EPA rule. In the meeting, representatives from the trade group presented OIRA with a list of other companies, trade groups, and state government agencies that also support the rule. The list, available here, is impressive in its length.

So if the rule is as good for public health as EPA claims, and if it is so popular among a diverse group of stakeholders, why would the White House reject it?