Water Law Commons^™

Is Fifra Enough Regulation? Failure To Obtain A Npdes Permit For Pesticide Applications May Violate The Clean Water Act, Rebecca E. Leintz

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In the summer of 1999, West Nile Virus, a mosquito-borne illness, appeared in the eastern United States and has since worked its way across the country. Thousands have been infected, and hundreds have died from the virus. Communities, struggling to protect their residents, have often been forced to employ widespread pesticide spraying to stop the virus' spread. Citizens and environmental groups, however, have expressed concern that pesticide spraying is damaging to the environment and contend that the law has been broken. They argue that when these pesticides are deposited onto water bodies, without first obtaining a permit, there is a …