HOUSE APPROVES BILL SEEKING TO UPEND EPA PESTICIDE RULE

Washington — The House has passed a Republican-backed measure reversing an Environmental Protection Agency requirement that those spraying pesticides on or near rivers and lakes file for a permit. The chamber voted largely along party lines Wednesday to approve the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act. The bill’s sponsors say the rule that requires a permit under the Clean Water Act before spraying pesticides is burdensome and duplicative. EPA already regulates pesticides under a different law. Most Democrats opposed the bill, which they derided as a political favor to the chemical industry.