Pesticides in Ground Water: Will the EPA's New Regulation Decrease Health Risks?

Abstract

The EPA's new regulation to protect ground water, the Pesticides and Ground Water Management Plan rule, will not significantly decrease health risks. Existing evidence suggests that the risk from ground water contamination is low and states have effective ground water protection programs. It is therefore unlikely that extensive federal involvement is necessary to protect ground water. The EPA has indicated it will use the new regulation to require states to expand their programs. The EPA did not, however, estimate the benefits of expanding ground water protection in the proposed rule, consider the risk of alternative pesticides, or show that the actual level of risk is potentially greater than existing data suggest. In this paper, I illustrate an approach for estimating the benefits and costs of ground water protection based on a case study of ground water contamination in California's San Joaquin Valley. The study shows that the health risk from ground water contamination is low, the costs of reducing contamination are high, and California is effectively protecting ground water. The study also shows that better analysis of the benefits and costs of ground water protection in each state can help the EPA determine the appropriate level of federal involvement in state ground water protection activities.