Water Quality Standards

In an effort to improve and strengthen WQSs, the Center – representing ALS, American Canoe Association (“ACA”), CORALations, FLPIRG, Save Our Suwannee, Friends of the Saint Sebastian River, and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition – commenced legal actions in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, and Puerto Rico. These actions sought to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to promulgate WQSs that meet the requirements of the CWA. These five states had submitted revisions to their WQSs that did not provide adequate protection to human health and aquatic life.

These five cases are in various stages. Two (Maryland and Virginia) have settled. The others are in active litigation with EPA. For those cases that have been resolved, the Center continues its involvement by monitoring compliance with the settlement agreements and by analyzing and providing technical comments on proposed changes to WQSs.

The five cases are:

CORALations v. EPA, Civil Action No. 02-1266 (D.P.R. 2002):MAELC represents CORALations and the American Littoral Society in a 2002 lawsuit against EPA for the agency’s failure to issue Clean Water Act Water Quality Standards (WQS) for Puerto Rico.  In August 2003, the Court ruled in Plaintiffs’ favor on two of the four issues in the case, to protect human health and aquatic life from bacteria from wastewater discharges. The Center filed a Motion in 2004 to resolve the remaining issue, and legal briefs were filed in September. The Court’s decision is awaited.

Florida Public Interest Research Group v. EPA, Civil Action No. 02-408 (N.D.Fla. 2002): On In an appeal brought by the Center, the federal 11 th Circuit Court ruled in October 2004 that Florida’s removal of more than 300 impaired water bodies from its Clean Water Act 303(d) list by increasing the amount of data necessary to show impairment could amount to a substantiv e change of water quality standards subject to anti-backsliding provisions and full regulatory process. This important precedent will prevent states from making “backdoor” changes to weaken water quality standards without public involvement and input. The Center represented Florida PIRG, Save Our Suwannee and Sierra Club in the case which challenged Florida’s Impaired Waters Rule.

American Canoe Association v. EPA, Civil Action No. 99-6297 (E.D.Pa. 1999) (Maryland)

American Canoe Association v. EPA, Civil Action No. 01-1472-A (E.D.Va. 2001)

West Virginia Rivers Coalition v. EPA (Notice Letter): On February 25, 2003, on behalf of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, the Center filed a complaint ( 19.10 Kb)  against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Philadelphia. The complaint alleges that in the 1990s, EPA's Philadelphia office disapproved several water quality standards (WQS) that were submitted by the State of West Virginia. Under the Clean Water Act, if EPA disapproves a WQS, the agency has a mandatory duty to promulgate a new WQS that meets the requirements of the Act. EPA has failed to promulgate new WQSs for those that the agency disapproved in West Virginia.