National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

Pesticide Permitting-Permitting Decision Tool

EPA developed this interactive decision tool to help you answer the following questions about the Pesticide General Permit (PGP):

  • Do I need an NPDES permit for my pesticide applications?
  • Am I eligible for coverage under the EPA PGP?
  • What is required of me under the EPA PGP?

This is an interactive tool for your informational purposes only. The information in this step-by-step guide is based on EPA’s 2016 PGP and is only to be used for areas where EPA is the NPDES permitting authority.




 

Step 2: I need an NPDES permit for my pesticide application. Am I eligible for coverage under EPA's NPDES Pesticide General Permit (PGP)?

You are not eligible for coverage under EPA’s NPDES Pesticide General Permit (PGP). You must apply for an NPDES permit from your EPA Region.

You are eligible for coverage under EPA's NPDES Pesticide General Permit (PGP). (See Part 1.1 of the permit for further eligibility details).


Step 3: I need an NPDES permit for my pesticide application and I am eligible for coverage under EPA's NPDES Pesticide General Permit (PGP). What is required of me under the PGP?

Are you a decision-maker or a for-hire applicator? (See Part 1.0 and Appendix A for definitions.)

Will any of your discharges be to waters of the U.S. containing NMFS Listed Resources of Concern?

Are you a federal or state agency with the responsibility:

  • to control mosquitoes for public health, nuisance control or animal welfare;
  • to control weeds and algae;
  • to control animals for public health, nuisance control or resource management; or
  • to control forest canopy pests?

Are you a:

  1. mosquito control district or similar pest control district; or
  2. irrigation and weed control district or similar pest control district?

Are you a small entity as defined in Appendix A of the permit?

Will you exceed any of these thresholds:

  1. adulticiding more than 6,400 acres during a calendar year;
  2. performing weeds or algae control with an annual treatment area of more than either 20 linear miles or 80 acres;
  3. performing animal control with an annual treatment area of more than either 20 linear miles or 80 acres;
  4. treating more than 6,400 acres of forest canopy pests during a calendar year; or
  5. treating a Tier 3 water to restore or maintain water quality or to protect public health or the environment that either does not degrade water quality or only degrades water quality on a short-term or temporary basis?

Are you a small entity as defined in Appendix A of the permit?

Are you a small entity as defined in Appendix A of the permit?

Your requirements are:
Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) under the following timelines (see Part 1.2.2 for more details):
For applications that discharge to waters of the U.S. containing NMFS Listed Resources of Concern, and:
- are not for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI at least 30 days prior to first discharge.
- are for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI within 15 days after first discharge.

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for all Decision-makers
  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for Decision-makers Required to Submit NOIs
  • Water Quality, Part 3
  • Monitoring, Part 4.2
  • Pesticide Discharge Management Plan, Part 5 (not required for applications made in response to Declared Pest Emergencies)
  • Corrective Action, Part 6
  • Recordkeeping, Parts 7.0, 7.1, 7.4, and 7.5
  • Annual Report, Part 7.6
  • Permit Conditions Applicable to Specific States (including Territories) and Indian Country, Part 9
  • Standard Permit Conditions, Appendix B

For any applications where you self-apply the pesticides, your requirements also include

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.0: Applicators' Responsibilities
  • Monitoring for Applicators, Part 4.1

Your requirements are:
Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) under the following timelines (see Part 1.2.2 for more details):
For applications that discharge to waters of the U.S. containing NMFS Listed Resources of Concern, and:
- are not for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI at least 30 days prior to first discharge.
- are for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI within 15 days after first discharge.

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for all Decision-makers
  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for Decision-makers Required to Submit NOIs
  • Water Quality, Part 3
  • Monitoring, Part 4.2
  • Corrective Action, Part 6
  • Recordkeeping, Parts 7.0, 7.1, 7.3, and 7.5
  • Annual Report, Part 7.7
  • Permit Conditions Applicable to Specific States (including Territories) and Indian Country, Part 9
  • Standard Permit Conditions, Appendix B

For any applications where you self-apply the pesticides, your requirements also include:

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.0: Applicators' Responsibilities
  • Monitoring for Applicators, Part 4.1

Your requirements are:
Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) under the following timelines (see Part 1.2.2 for more details):
For applications that discharge to waters of the U.S. containing NMFS Listed Resources of Concern, and:
- are not for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI at least 30 days prior to first discharge.
- are for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI within 15 days after first discharge.

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for all Decision-makers
  • Water Quality, Part 3
  • Monitoring, Part 4.2
  • Corrective Action, Part 6
  • Recordkeeping, Parts 7.0, 7.1, 7.3, and 7.5
  • Annual Report, Part 7.7
  • Permit Conditions Applicable to Specific States (including Territories) and Indian Country, Part 9
  • Standard Permit Conditions, Appendix B

For any applications where you self-apply the pesticides, your requirements also include:

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.0: Applicators' Responsibilities
  • Monitoring for Applicators, Part 4.1

Your requirements are:
Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) under the following timelines (see Part 1.2.2 for more details):
For applications that discharge to waters of the U.S. containing NMFS Listed Resources of Concern, and:
- are not for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI at least 30 days prior to first discharge.
- are for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI within 15 days after first discharge.

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for all Decision-makers
  • Water Quality, Part 3
  • Monitoring, Part 4.2
  • Corrective Action, Part 6
  • Recordkeeping, Parts 7.0, 7.1, 7.4, and 7.5
  • Annual Report, Part 7.6
  • Permit Conditions Applicable to Specific States (including Territories) and Indian Country, Part 9
  • Standard Permit Conditions, Appendix B

For any applications where you self-apply the pesticides, your requirements also include:

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.0: Applicators' Responsibilities
  • Monitoring for Applicators, Part 4.1

Your requirements are:
Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) under the following timelines (see Part 1.2.2 for more details):
For applications that do not discharge to waters of the U.S. containing NMFS Listed Resources of Concern, and:
- are not for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI at least 10 days prior to first discharge.
- are for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI within 30 days after first discharge.

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for all Decision-makers
  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for Decision-makers Required to Submit NOIs
  • Water Quality, Part 3
  • Monitoring, Part 4.2
  • Corrective Action, Part 6
  • Recordkeeping, Parts 7.0, 7.1, 7.3, and 7.5
  • Permit Conditions Applicable to Specific States (including Territories) and Indian Country, Part 9
  • Standard Permit Conditions, Appendix B

For any applications where you self-apply the pesticides, your requirements also include:

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.0: Applicators' Responsibilities
  • Monitoring for Applicators, Part 4.1

Your requirements are:
Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) under the following timelines (see Part 1.2.2 for more details):
For applications that do not discharge to waters of the U.S. containing NMFS Listed Resources of Concern, and:
- are not for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI at least 10 days prior to first discharge.
- are for Declared Pest Emergencies, submit NOI within 30 days after first discharge.

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for all Decision-makers
  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for Decision-makers Required to Submit NOIs
  • Water Quality, Part 3
  • Monitoring, Part 4.2
  • Pesticide Discharge Management Plan, Part 5 (not required for applications made in response to Declared Pest Emergencies)
  • Corrective Action, Part 6
  • Recordkeeping, Parts 7.0, 7.1, 7.4, and 7.5
  • Annual Report, Part 7.6
  • Permit Conditions Applicable to Specific States (including Territories) and Indian Country, Part 9
  • Standard Permit Conditions, Appendix B

For any applications where you self-apply the pesticides, your requirements also include:

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.0: Applicators' Responsibilities
  • Monitoring for Applicators, Part 4.1

Your requirements are:

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.2: Decision-makers' Responsibilities for all Decision-makers
  • Water Quality, Part 3
  • Monitoring, Part 4
  • Corrective Action, Part 6
  • Recordkeeping, Parts 7.1 and 7.5
  • Permit Conditions Applicable to Specific States (including Territories) and Indian Country, Part 9
  • Standard Permit Conditions, Appendix B

If you are self-applying a pesticide, your requirements also include:

  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.1: Applicators' Responsibilities
  • Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, Part 2.1: Applicators' Responsibilities
  • Water Quality, Part 3
  • Monitoring, Part 4
  • Corrective Action, Part 6
  • Recordkeeping, Parts 7.1, 7.2, and 7.5
  • Permit Conditions Applicable to Specific States (including Territories) and Indian Country, Part 9
  • Standard Permit Conditions, Appendix B

IMPORTANT: As a result of consultation with federal resource agencies required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the requirements for discharges that are likely to adversely affect species that are federally listed as endangered or threatened ("listed") under the ESA or habitat that is federally-designated as critical under the ESA ("critical habitat") differ from those of other types of discharges described in this tool. If you are a Decision-Maker (as defined in Part 1.0) and your treatment area could potentially overlap with any ESA-listed species or critical habitat (as identified in maps at www.epa.gov/npdes/pesticide-permitting), please consult Part 1.1.2.4 and Appendix I to determine if you are eligible for coverage under EPA's PGP, and Part 1.2 and Part 7.7 for your requirements under the PGP.