1st Circuit Rejects Environmentalists' Bid To Expand Stormwater Permitting

摘要

A federal appeals court has rejected environmentalists' suit that sought to force EPA to expand the use of stormwater permitting by mandating Clean Water Act (CWA) stormwater discharge permits for properties in watersheds that are subject to CWA cleanup plans, a win for regulators who opposed the legal bid for broader stormwater permitting. The Jan. 24 ruling says EPA need not invoke its rarely used residual designation authority (RDA) to seek stormwater permits for properties in areas where agency-approved cleanup plans say polluted runoff is harming nearby waters, because that finding is not a "determination" that individual properties must reduce their discharges, The ruling is available on InsideEPA.com.