WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new federal pesticide permitting requirement that goes into effect on Halloween may cut pollution and save the lives of humans and fish.

Then again, it may also burden farmers, local governments, and businesses with unneeded paperwork and fines as high as $37,500 for violations.

Whether the new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits required under a 2009 federal court decision are a good thing all depends on who you talk to.

Freshman GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs of Holmes County is one of the naysayers. Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation he drafted that would overturn the new permit requirements for pesticide spraying near waterways. Gibbs, who formerly served as Ohio Farm Bureau Federation president, is apoplectic that the U.S. Senate doesn't seem willing to act on his legislation before the new permits go into effect.

Gibbs says the new rules will require an extra 365,000 pesticide users throughout the United States to obtain discharge permits under the Clean Water Act instead of merely complying with product application instructions, which was all the law required before the court decision.

He predicts the new pesticide discharge permits will set back efforts to control mosquitoes that spread disease and algae that clogs water systems, and will harm the finances of companies, homeowners, farmers and local governments who will have to deal with extra paperwork.

"It is just one more thing that comes off the bottom line, and it ends up costing our customers more money in the long run," agrees Kim Kellogg, who anticipates his Grasshopper lawn care company in Millersburg will be affected by the new rules but doesn't yet know exactly what it will cost him.

Environmental groups that oppose Gibbs' bill, including Columbus-based Ohio Environmental Council, say the new permit is necessary because the old rules didn't adequately protect water bodies from pesticide contamination. A June 21 letter signed by more than a dozen environmental groups said many U.S. waterways aren't suitable for fishing, swimming or drinking because of pesticides.

Ohio Environmental Council legal affairs director Trent A. Dougherty said Gibbs' bill would open "the flood gates to pesticide pollution" and weaken the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to protect health.

"Under the guise of regulatory reform, the bill looks to ease regulation on business by allowing them easy access to discharge toxins into our waters," Dougherty said in an email. "Allowing bad actors to pollute in exchange for regulatory ease simply shifts the burden to the health and future of our communities."

Dougherty said the new permits would only be required for pesticide applications over large geographic areas, not "Grandma spraying for bugs in her tulip garden." The EPA has specified that people must apply for permits if they spray for mosquitoes and other flying insect pests over 640 acres. For aquatic weed and nuisance spraying, permits are required if the treatment spreads over 20 acres of water, or 20 linear miles along the water's edge.

Gibbs and advocates of his legislation contend the new permits will duplicate other regulatory programs and won't benefit the environment.

"The likelihood of receiving increased funding to deal with these new requirements is virtually zero," Colorado Agriculture Commission John Salazar, a Democrat, told the House Agriculture Committee. "We will therefore be forced to spend our scarce resources on filling out paperwork for a duplicative permit instead of treating invasive species, controlling for mosquitoes, or keeping our waterways free of vegetation that restricts the flow of water."

Gibbs' bill passed the House of Representatives on March 31 by a 292 to 130 margin, with unanimous GOP backing and votes from 57 Democrats, including Toledo's Marcy Kaptur.

The Senate's Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee approved the bill in June, but objections from Democratic U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Ben Cardin of Maryland are keeping it from getting a full U.S. Senate vote.

Boxer chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Cardin chairs its subcommittee on water and wildlife. They want their committee to provide input.

Cardin "looks forward to working with his colleagues to address their common concerns and to come to a responsible resolution that protects the safety of our nation's waters," says his press secretary, Sue Walitsky.

"We do believe that there is common ground to be found on this issue," Walitsky added.

Gibbs, whose district will include parts of Medina and Lorain counties when a new congressional remap goes into effect, is growing impatient.

"Given the fact that a large number of users have never been subject to the Clean Water Act and its permitting process, even a good faith effort to be in compliance could fall short," he warns. "Unless Congress acts, hundreds of thousands of farmers, foresters and public health pesticide users will go into next season under threat of lawsuits and exorbitant fines."