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ARA Filed Comments to EPA on Clean Water Act to Prevent Duplicative Regulatory Burdens

Jul 26 2022

ARA filed comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the Clean Water Act (CWA) Hazardous Substance Worst Case Discharge Planning Rule to prevent duplicative regulatory burdens and unnecessarily increasing operating costs at ag retail facilities, citing ResponsibleAg

The ag retail industry supports efforts to ensure the nation's drinking water supplies are protected from hazardous substance discharges under the CWA; however ARA says EPA has not provided the required data to show the need for this proposal. 

ARA says these proposed regulations are unnecessary for ag retail facilities already covered by EPA’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) requirements and EPA’s Pesticide Container and Containment (PCC) regulations. It is also unclear which facilities would be subject to this rule due to the uncertainty of the CWA jurisdiction, which is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Sackett v. EPA.

ARA requests that facilities already heavily regulated by EPA regarding the storage and handling of a hazardous chemical should be exempt from these new regulations as it would require burdensome, expensive and unnecessary additional compliance work. 

Background

ARA's comments relate to an EPA proposal for Clean Water Act Hazardous Substance Worst Case Discharge Planning regulationsEPA proposed new requirements for certain facilities to plan for worst case discharges of Clean Water Act (CWA) hazardous substances.

A worst case discharge is the largest foreseeable discharge in adverse weather conditions, including those due to climate change. 

COMMENTS