Cecil - the new regs vary from state to state, if not also between intra-agency interpreters. Only 6 states (Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Oklahoma) adopted the
EPA's NPDES REGS (which are incredibly stringent), while the remaining states wrote their own variations.
My suggestion is to check with your respective state's
water quality management agency (ie TCEQ in TX), as the NPDES regs are completely unrelated to each state's pesticide licensing/regulatory agency.
BTW: Most (but not all) ponds are considered "waters of the US" through the broad definition found in the NPDES regs - and the "occasional discharge" claim doesn't apply (at least not in TX and within several other state-regs that I've reviewed). If an "overflow/discharge conduit" exists, consider your pond impacted by the new regs until proven otherwise.
The odds may be very slim that a pondowner might be checked or cited for violations. However, the state agencies with assigned oversight are advising & encouraging compliance with the new (and admittedly unneccesary) regs in order to avoid even more stringent mandates due to gross non-compliance.
