Pesticide Permitting-Proposed 2026 PGP
On October 4, 2021, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a petition for review with the Ninth Circuit on the 2021 Pesticide General Permit (PGP). EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and CBD entered into a settlement agreement on July 25, 2023. Information on the Settlement Agreement is available in Docket ID EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0247.
EPA's proposed 2026 PGP was signed on November 8, 2023. The Federal Register Notice for the proposed permit was re-signed on November 21, 2023 to make non-substantive editorial corrections to some of the signatories’ signature blocks prior to publication in the Federal Register. This proposed general permit, issued under the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program, contains proposed permit requirements for point source discharges of biological pesticides and chemical pesticides that leave a residue.
Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement for the petition CBD v. EPA and US Fish and Wildlife Services, EPA will issue the final 2026 PGP on or prior to December 17, 2024, with the effective date of October 31, 2026, when the current 2021 PGP expires. The proposed permit covers mosquito and other flying insect pest control; weed and algae pest control; animal pest control; and forest canopy pest control.
The proposed 2026 PGP will have a 45-day public comment period, from November 28, 2023 to January 12, 2024. Comments on the proposed permit must be submitted on www.regulations.gov for Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0268.